Wednesday, December 3, 2008

How To Buy A Property With No Money Down

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to get all the good real estate deals? Does it seem unfair that creating wealth appears to be for the rich only? Well I have some great news for you. ?No money down? deals on real estate can be done by everyone, when you learn the skills.

Buying a property with no money down is a mindset. The deals are not advertised as ?no money down? deals, they need to be constructed to be this way. And yes, anyone can do it, it just takes some education and a little confidence.

All real estate deals need to be seen as an opportunity and they may need to be worked a little. You may need to invest some time, face some challenges and grow and develop in your financial education to be able to make these opportunities in to reality. I will give you a few pointers as to how to work a real estate opportunity into a ?no money down? deal.

Firstly, don?t always believe what the real estate agents say, they will often tell you what can?t be done rather than what can. Let?s face it, most of them are not seasoned property investors.

One simple way to get this dreamy ?no money down deal? is to find a property that is worth investing in. Get a couple of valuations done on this property by different valuers. (A trick here is to get a few valuations done, they will all come back differently and then you can choose the highest one.) Make sure you do this BEFORE you buy the property. If the valuation comes in higher than the purchase price, then you can get finance based on the valuation, rather than the purchase price. Now a good rule of thumb when investing and building a property portfolio, is to get your properties financed with the highest LVR (loan to value ratio). Aim for 95% if possible. This will help you buy more properties and get your portfolio off to a flying start.

Some quick numbers to help you understand this concept: Say the real estate agent was asking $180,000 for the property. You got a couple of valuations that came back at $180,000, $190,000 and $200,000. (This is actually possible). Assume that you can get a loan for 95% of the valuation price i.e. $190,000. Therefore, you are paying $180,000 for the property but are able to get a $190,000 loan. You could even use some of this extra to fund your next deposit. Easy!

In Australia, and you?ll need to check the rules in other countries, but the big 4 banks use their own valuers, so you may not have the luxury of choosing a valuation. They often value it lower too, to ?cover their buts?. You will have to use a second tier lender, but that often isn?t a bad thing, in fact I use them more regularly than the main banks.

You could also make a contract subject to a valuation coming back at a certain price. If it doesn?t come back at that price, then you have the option of bailing out, but if you like the property, then you could ask the vendor to drop their price so that you still purchase for ?no money down? e.g. purchase price is $190,000 and you want a valuation of $230,000. If it only comes back at $198,000 then you can ask them to drop the price to say $160,000.

When purchasing a property, the finance is an extremely important part of the overall transaction. It is important to understand the system and work within it. There are often different ways of structuring things so it is advisable to get a broker (specifically an investment specialist e.g. Investor Finance), that can help you get creative with your finance deals.

You could also ask for vendor finance. If they can?t finance the whole property i.e. they may need the money for something else, then at least ask if they can leave in the balance of what you can?t get from the bank. For example, if you want to purchase a property for $500,000 but the bank will only lend you $400,000, then ask if the vendor will take a second mortgage over the property, and leave $100,000 there for you. This would create a ?no money down deal? for you.

A great tip for investing in real estate in general is to not fall in love with the property, but fall in love with the deal. Look also for MOTIVATED SELLERS e.g. divorced, bankrupt, lost job etc. For some places you can put in a crazy offer and then just keep your eye on it. If the property is still on the market in 3 months, then call them again and re-offer the crazy offer. It won?t seem so crazy to them now. You can then keep the property, rent it out or resell it or do a ?rent to buy? (see www.toolsforwealth.com for a product review of this brilliant strategy).

So in conclusion, you need to be CREATIVE for ?no money down deals? on real estate, but they are there. You just need to be able to see the opportunity and do things a little differently.

Mandy Nield is a recognized authority in the area of investing, and strongly believes that financial education is the only way to creating long term wealth. If you want some strategies to create wealth now, go to her product review site at: http://www.toolsforwealth.com. The only way to change the way you are living now is to change what you are currently doing. Get educated now!

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