| |
| |
|
Real Estate Information |
|
|
|
Why Real Estate Investment?
Why should you invest in real estate? Well, investing in real estate for profit is one of the most popular approaches to generating additional income in the United States today. In fact, if you pay attention to recent press you will have seen numerous reports about the real estate investment craze that seems to be sweeping the Nation. When done carefully and intelligently, real estate can yield fantastic benefits that can not be achieved through any other type of investment. Here are just a few examples of why real estate investing can be such a powerful wealth generator. 1. Real Estate Markets Are Slow to React - Although real estate, like everything else, has ups and downs, it is generally a lot slower to react than the stock market. For example, you won't get up in the morning and discover that your real estate investment is worth ten or twenty percent less than it was yesterday. 2. Leverage. You can borrow money to buy real estate, whereas, generally you can not borrow money to buy stocks. You can control a large dollar value of real estate with a small amount of your own money by using loans and mortgages. The stock market, by law, limits the amount of leverage (margin) you can use to buy stock. There are no such limits with real estate. 3. You Can Purchase Real Estate For Less Than Its Market Value. In many cases you can purchase a property for as low as 60 to 70 percent of the market value. When buying stocks, you may be able to find a stock that is considered "under valued" but generally it's tough to do that on a regular and consistent basis. 4. Real Estate Offers A Tremendous Amount Of Tax Advantages Through Depreciation. Real estate basically has two values, the land and the building(s) on the land. For example, if a property is valued at $250,000 and the assessed value of the land is $75,000, the building would be worth $175,000. The government allows real estate investors to depreciate the value of the building in equal parts over its "useful life" which is defined as 27.5 years. So for example, based on the $175,000 building value above, the annual depreciation value would be $6,363.63 ($175,000 divided by 27.5). This means that for tax purposes, the investor would be able to reduce his/her annual income by $6,363.63! Many people find the notion of depreciation to be confusing since it's not really a loss of money. I recommend you check with a qualified tax professional for more details and how this can benefit you. 5. Real Estate Markets Are Insulated Local Markets. For instance, when the stock market falls, it takes down just about everybody and everything involved with it. When home values drop in one city such as New York, generally it does not affect property values in other cities like Boston or Chicago. To protect yourself, you can have a "geographically diversified" portfolio of real estate investments to hedge against these types events. 6. You The Investor Can Control The Value. Another aspect of real estate investment is that unlike any other investment, this investment is controlled by the investor. For example, as an investor, you can increase the value of your investment property by making some modifications to the property such as adding a garage or replacing the carpet, etc. With stocks or any other investment, the investor can't do anything to increase the value of the investment. 7. The Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). When a market has prices that always "fully reflect" available information, it is called "efficient". The stock market for example is considered by most to be an efficient market. When you call your broker to purchase or sell a stock, you can be sure of one thing - the price you bought or sold the stock for was indeed the "correct" price for that stock on that day and at that time. Why? Because the existing price for the stock will already incorporate and reflect all relevant available information about the company such as earnings, and other metrics. With real estate, the market is very inefficient. Unlike the stock market, with real estate, the "correct" price discovery mechanism is left to each buyer and seller to figure out on their own. There is the almost always uncertainty as to whether the price offered by the seller is too high or too low. Moreover, there is typically little to no help available from analysts and research agencies (like when dealing with stocks) in this respect. This inefficiency is the very reason why real estate offers such a great investment opportunity to be smart and win! But it requires experience and a sharp eye for good deals and great negotiation skill. This expertise can be developed. If done correctly, real estate is probably one of the smartest investments you could ever make. Hopefully this short rambling has provided you with a fresh perspective of the many benefits of real estate investing. So be smart, continue to learn and above all don't wait for some magic moment, just get started. To Your Success! Rik Foote Rik Foote is the President & CEO of The Dorian Group, Inc. Dorian is a software company that develops affordable software applications designed to help beginners get off to a realistic and practical start as real estate investors. To learn more about Dorian's products and services visit http://www.reiscouts.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Real-Estate - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Investing in Real Estate Profitably: Financing Options for Purchase of Rental Houses, Part 1. This is not an article about tricks for 100% (no money down) financing. Even if you do take advantage of various no money down strategies from time to time, these strategies are not generally applicable when you begin investing systematically in multiple rental homes with the goal of making significant rental income. Real Estate Investing By The Numbers Just like most things real estate investing can be broken down into easy to learn step.Step One - Learn the basics:Ownership of real estate is evidenced by a valid deed. Foreclosure Foreclosure under a mortgage requires a court ordered sale conducted by the sheriff or other court-appointed official. Foreclosure process is called judicial foreclosure. What to Look for in a Real Estate Agent Real Estate Agents play an essential, critical role in the process of buying and selling a home. You just simply cannot afford to work with an agent that does not exhibit top-scale professional values. Your Home Equity Can Work for You "Use your home's equity to pay off your debt. It's easy and simple, no closing costs!" Every time I turn on the television, commercials bombard me telling me to take out a home equity line of credit. Why A Final Inspection Is Necessary In the sales contract, the sellers of your new home agreed to leave all the light fixtures, custom blinds, and refrigerator. When you walk in the home on moving day, to your surprise, all of those things are gone. Wealth Building - An Advantage of Home Ownership As you grow older, the issue of wealth building comes front and center. Wealth building simply refers to increasing the net value of your total assets. Real Estate Appraisal - Rental Properties Real estate appraisal for rental properties isn't the same as for single family homes. If you were looking at a 24-unit building, it would be difficult to find similar ones nearby that have recently sold. Sell Your Home Without a Realtor and Save Thousand$$$ A typical real estate commission on a $234,000 home (national median price for all existing homes as of July 2005) is over $16,000. In many areas the cut a real estate broker gets is much higher. Dead Deals and Recycled Reports Everyone knows that at the end of a home inspection, a report is generated that outlines the findings of the home inspector. But did you know that this is not intended to be a "hit list" of negatives? Us home inspectors do what we do in order to objectively describe the home. Real Estate Investment - Why it is Big Business? When examining the different asset classes, real estate is generally far less volatile than shares and real estate tends to be the haven that investors flock to when other asset classes are suffering.It is true to say that investment properties can have many benefits in terms of building long-term wealth, but we must never forget that this wealth is not guaranteed!Following the global real estate boom of the late 1980's many investors learnt this hard lesson when they found their properties were worth far less than they had actually paid for them and the bottom seemingly fell out of the over-inflated market. 5 Steps To Choose the Best Cincinnati Realtor Excluding some professional real estate agents buying a house is a lifetime decision for most people. Whenever a person is decided about purchasing a house he is ready to invest a hefty amount of his lifetime savings for acquiring the house. The Perils of the Property Ladder: Has Anyone Noticed the Silence? There was a time when every conversation was focussed on property and every other TV programme was about property makeovers. Everybody wanted to get into property and those already on the ladder seemed fixated on becoming wealthy overnight. Real Estate Investors Kick Away $1,000 Those new to real estate investing often fail to take action because they don't have much cash. The truth is that the very best investors got their start when they had little or no money. Renting Versus Buying A Home Renters are often in a quandary as to whether it makes sense to continue renting or buy a home. Buying a home makes more sense, particularly when taking a long-term view. Property Investment - What Future For the Biggest Bubble of All Time? The Economist magazine published a special report in this months issue entitled "House Prices ? After The Fall". Some might call it pessimistic, alarmist, nonsense or worse but only the foolish would choose to ignore the research that comes out of a think-tank with the kind of resources that this highly respected publication has. Home Owner Association Restrictions - Read Before Buying Many communities have associations for homeowners, property owners, condo owners, or similar associations. The presence of a homeowners association, also known as "HOA", introduces another layer of rules and regulations to consider when buying a home. Odors Can Make or Break The Sale of Your Home It's amazing how important the sense of smell is to many people. If you're selling your home, and this applies across the board to houses, townhouses, condos, apartments, or whatever, you need to be aware of the power of odors. Appraisal vs. Market Value: How to Avoid Pitfalls in the Sale of Your Home When you sell your home, appraisers use comps (comparable market sales) of local properties sold within the last six months to value your home. With today's rapidly rising seller's market, six-month-old information is ancient history. The Great Real Estate Bubble Quiz You hear it asked on the radio, in the newspapers and on TV."Are we experiencing a value bubble in real estate and is itready to burst?"Do you have an answer for that question? Do you have a guess?Yes, I know the so called experts are lining up on both sides of the question.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |