Do You Know About The Most Popular Real Estate Scams?

Real estate scams are more and more popular, even though we can't see them yet. Compared to robbing a bank, stealing $200,000-worth property via a false deed or an identity theft is trivial - and remarkably safe for the thieves. Their imagination is remarkable and oftentimes we can't do much more than minimizing the damage they inflict. By becoming aware of the most common real estate scams, you may be able to protect yourself or someone you know.

False Deeds, Part 1

Most real estate frauds revolve around forged deeds. The most popular scam is using a false deed in order to get a loan secured against a property. The thief then vanishes with all the money, leaving the real owner in danger of foreclosure by the bank - oftentimes the danger is real if the owner doesn't react on the first warnings received from the bank.

False Deeds, Part 2

Another common real estate fraud is selling a property without the owners consent. The uninhabited, recently inherited and otherwise unguarded property is the most probable target for such scams. The most inventive thieves are able to even sell the same property to several buyers at the same time. However, if they have sold it only to a single buyer, the fraud can go unnoticed for months or even a year. By that time, the ?owner? is long gone, usually in another state, selling another home to someone else.

Real Deeds

The false deeds are bad enough, as such scams usually hit at random and they often can be reversed after the deed is thoroughly checked. However, the problem begins when the fraud is performed using a real deed, one that was either stolen or simply taken from the owner. The sad thing is that such thieves often recruit from our family and closest friends, people we would never suspect of anything.

The most popular way is to get some kind of authorization (or truly, just a signature) from the owner in addition to a deed. This way the thief can do whatever they like without any real risk for being caught. This is an especially popular scam used against elderly people - a nurse or a family member either take a loan in the name of the elder or just force them into taking it.

Another, even more outrageous, real estate fraud is performed by unethical door-to-door loan sellers. Under the pretext of making home repairs, they force the seniors into signing some documents which are truly high-rate loan contracts secured against the property. As most seniors are unable to repay such debt, their homes are taken by the creditor (which was its goal from the beginning) and the elder is left homeless.

Defense

Defending against such frauds is difficult. If the thieves use false deeds, it is possible to prove that you had nothing to do with the loan or purchase. However, if they use a real deed and/or have your authorization, this gets dicey. And taking effective legal actions is next to impossible if you sign the loan papers.

Here are some tips to help protect yourself from such scams: 1) never sign anything you haven't thoroughly read and if you are in doubt have your attorney review the documents before signing; 2) throw out any peddling loan lenders; 3) keep important documents, such as your deed, in a safe deposit box.

For more information on real estate visit http://www.1st-real-estate.com

Sarasota Housing Market Trends

According to the latest housing price forecasts from Fiserv Lending Solutions, a provider of mortgage and consumer lending services, prices in the Sarasota housing market will rise by 3.1% in 2006. The median price of Sarasota homes in the third quarter of 2005 was $222,000, and between the third quarter of 2004 and 2005, sales rose by 40.3%, top three in the rankings published by Fiserv. Sarasota housing market was only edged out by Phoenix and neighboring Naples in terms of the change in sales price within a one-year interval, between 2004 and 2005. Comparing this with the corresponding projection for 2005 to 2006, there is an indication of a dramatic deceleration of the market. The rates are slowing down and if conditions remain as they are at the moment, Sarasota housing market is bound to equilibrate in the years to come. Fiserv generally forecasts a significant stagnation in housing prices for the United States in 2006. Overall median home prices will only inch up by 1.5% this year. Many metropolitan areas in the United States will experience drops, including some of the largest, and most expensive, ones such as Los Angeles (down 3%), New York (down 2.43%), and Washington (down 1.9%).

Officially, the Florida Association of Realtors report that the statistics for the second quarter of 2006 showed ?signs of a market adjusting to a better balance between buyers and sellers.? All over Florida, existing-home median sales price rose 9% to reach $254,800 in the second quarter; the corresponding number a year ago was $234,500. In a more recent account, Bradenton Herald reported on August 23, 2006 that existing home sales continued to tumble throughout Florida in July. Every market in the state showed a decrease in the number of homes sold as compared to last July but only Naples saw a bigger drop off in sales than the Sarasota housing market. More recent numbers released by the Florida Association of Realtors confirm that sales in Florida dropped by 49% and home prices are starting to follow suit. Housing prices fell 11% from where they had been in July 2005, where the median cost of an existing home was $338,100. The median price for July 2006 was $302,100.

In the Sarasota housing market, residential home sales were down by 39% compared to last year, with the median sales price barely moving up from $317,800 to $318,500. Condo conversions also dropped 20% in price. A most likely reason for the general decline of prices is the difficulty in selling overpriced homes in the Sarasota housing market. No amount of advertising has ever sold an overpriced property.

Derrick Barwick, senior vice president of de Morgan Communities, figures that it will take the better part of a year for inventory in the Sarasota housing market to balance with demand. But even then, the statistics will not return to the headstrong 2004-2005 levels. The National Association of Home Builders also indicated that the Sarasota housing market is likely to remain depressed for the remainder of 2006. Evidently, the Housing Market Index for August 2006 declined seven points to 32, the lowest level reached since February 1991 when the measure was at 27. Only Housing Market Index figures above 50 indicate that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor.

The National Association of Home Builders has been doing the survey for 21 years. It weighs the perception of builders with regards to sales expectations for the next six months as either ?good,? ?fair? or ?poor.? Corresponding scores for each component are then utilized to extract the Housing Market Index. For the Sarasota housing market, all three components fell in August.

With these trends, erosion in the Sarasota housing market activity to continue through most of 2006 before hopefully stabilizing by 2007.

Earl Juanico - http://siestakeyrealestate.com

The Real Estate Note Partial Purchase: Enjoy a Slice of the 'Profit' Pie!

Want a piece of the ?profit? pie? Then purchase a portion of a note and discover how to achieve a slice of wealth. The private paper industry, also known as the secondary financing market, offers choices and flexibility to give you the freedom to determine whether you prefer to indulge in a ?slice? or the entire ?profit? pie. A portion of a note in the private paper industry is termed ?partial purchase.?

To achieve such wealth, first examine the basics of a note. A note is a written promise to pay the amount stated from the borrower (payor) to the seller (payee). A mortgage deed is a written instrument that generates a lien by utilizing property to secure a debt. A trust deed holds the title to the property in the ?trustee,? often a title company, as security for the loan until the debt is paid off. A cash flow transaction is the purchase of a note in exchange for cash. The note holder will receive a monthly income stream.

To explain in further detail, through a partial purchase the buyer attains a portion of the private mortgage note owned by the seller. The note represents a promise to pay through a course of payments due at a future time. The note offers flexibility since any portion of the note may be bought or sold.

An example of a partial purchase is as follows. Bob holds a note and would like to sell a portion of the note to pay for his child?s tuition. He could sell the note to an investor who would collect the monthly payments for a specific time period and then the note would revert back to Bob, the original note owner, to resume receiving payments. People often sell a note for a variety of reasons. They may need fast cash to pay a tuition, travel to a dream vacation destination, or even to pay a lump sum to the IRS come tax time.

Benefits to Your Investment Include (But Are Not Limited To):

Reduced risk

Good interest rate

Good rate of return

Note secured by collateral- the real property

Property may continue to appreciate over time

The ability to buy and sell a portion of a note is a mutually appealing situation. Investing in a partial purchase allows the creation of deals through financial structuring that is in turn beneficial to both parties.

Maria Fee is a mortgage professional, real estate investor, teacher, and master marketer with more than 20 years of business experience. Maria is the President of REMI KNOX, LLC, a group of investors who purchase real estate notes nationwide. Quoted by the media as an expert, she is continuously recognized for her extraordinary knowledge and real estate investing experience.

You too can discover hidden secrets to success with real estate notes. To take control of your financial future with proven strategies visit Maria's website at http://www.REMIKNOX.com

Happy investing!

Sussex Farmland ? A Goldmine for the Land Investors

Sussex Farmland and Sussex agricultural land would appear to be the same commodity. Infect, they bear the same relationship as a Greenbelt and Greenfield land.

Sussex Farmland includes agricultural land. Another term used for agricultural land is 'bareland', meaning that is farm land for sale with no buildings or residencies attached. There is, for example, a difference in the price for 'bareland' and farmland. The RICS rural land market survey in 2004 showed that the average price of 'bareland' across the UK was just over ?7,000 per hectare, whilst the price of farm land was nearly ?10,000.

There are Sussex Farmlands for sale 'hot' spots in terms of demand. Unsurprisingly, the southeast has the highest percentage of non-farmer individuals wishing to purchase farmland. A staggering 75% of sales in the southeast during August to September 2004, where not farmers. 62% were private individuals or investors, 6% were Institutional Investors, 6% were developers and 1% were miscellaneous purchasers. Compare this with Yorkshire and Humberside, 65% of buyers were agricultural but still 33% were non-farmer individuals.

Apart from being a heaven for investors Sussex Farmland is known for its beautiful historical buildings as well. The historical buildings are not just old houses or farm houses, many of them are old Palaces of Kings and Knights.

The author is a Land Expert based in the UK.

Formalizing Rental Transactions

It?s sad that many people hardly spend time formalizing rental related transactions. In most cases, rental agreements (especially for small rooms and units) are done verbally or, if contracts are needed, not much effort is given in making the documents look more professional. Perhaps the reason for this is because the property is not changing hands, and the money involved is not substantial. Another reason why some landlords opt to just prepare their own contracts is because they want to do away with additional expense ? after all, professionals such as realtors and law offices will charge you a professional fee for their services. However, preparing professional and legally binding contracts involving rental of properties need not cost an arm and a leg. There are ways by which you can secure such papers quickly and at a very affordable price.

One of the quickest ways you, as a landlord, can secure the forms you need to properly conduct your rental business is through the internet. In some real estate sites, there are sample forms uploaded on the web which you can view and whose contents you can copy. This practice is okay if you only need one or two forms, but if you need a whole lot then viewing and copying the contents of online forms is not the way to do it.

If you need to have several rental-related forms, it would be better if you simply downloaded the entire set and keep it on file. These forms can be purchased through most real estate related websites as these sites do not only address the needs of home buyers and sellers, but landlords and lessees as well.

Standard Rental Packages available on the internet include samples of rental applications, state specific lease agreements, rental contracts for short term and long term stays, notices and warnings, and a lot more. These contracts have been prepared by professional real estate agents so you can be assured that although these are ?generic? documents, these will conform to local and state requirements and will stand in any court of law.

These downloadable real estate forms are very handy and convenient. They can be opened using any word processing program and in addition, these can easily be modified or adjusted to meet your requirements. Once these have been purchased, you can reproduce these documents as many times and as often as you want. You don?t need to worry about the cost of real estate forms packages as these are very affordable and payment can be affected online. Most real estate related websites honour major credit cards, and accepts transactions made via paypal or electronic cheques.

With all these affordable forms available at your fingertips, what are you waiting for? Go online, look for reputable real estate related websites and purchase then download the rental-related forms you need for your business. Once you have these on hand, you can finally formalize how your rental business is run and give your tenants the professionalism that is due them.

This is article is brought to you by Gloria Smith at LegalHomeForms.com. Created by a former, licensed Real Estate Agent, LegalHomeForms.com was designed to offer instant access to the most sought after type of real estate forms. For the cost of what others charge for one real estate contract, you can have instant access to over 60 downloadable real estate forms. You can find the Rental Application form at: www.legalhomeforms.com/rental-application.htm

Get Your MBA in Real Estate Investing In Less Than 12 Months: Your Mega Bank Account

I used to be one of the many people who think that you have to have a lot of money to get started in real estate investing. But it's just not true!

But on the other side we've all heard the gurus talk about how easy it is to invest in real estate with Other People's Money (OPM). But that's not entirely true either.

What is true is that there are many ways to accumulate lots of money through real estate if you have the right team and are using the right strategies at the right time.

The team is such an important piece of the puzzle - these are the people that are going to make each deal happen. Real Estate is a networking business, and I didn't say a NOT-work business. The more people you know, the easier it is to run your business. Period.

When your team is in place is when your MBA starts accelerating. I have a lot of people on my team, and yes, that means I have to share the profits. But I can do more deals in less time with fewer headaches. Makes sense to me.

This is one of the most important concepts for building wealth quickly. One that almost every type of guru out there tells us to do. But one that seems to get the most resistance. Many people want to do it themselves because they don't want to split the profits, or pay for the help.

I'm telling you from experience that you need to do whatever you need to do to build your team. Contractors, lawyers, mentors, coaches, project managers, assistants, bookkeepers, CPAs, and the list goes on.

I've paid for many coaches. I'm grateful that I have a mentor who is congruent with my own dreams. I've also created many joint ventures with other team players that have cost me nothing but my time or my experience, and made me lots of money. But it's because I built my team that I was able to do that.

Now let's talk about the strategies. There are many ways to do real estate deals with OPM, but if you're in a hurry to make some money, the fastest way that I have found to work is the Assignment of Contract method.

Here's what this means: you find and negotiate a deal with the seller, for a certain price with certain conditions, giving you so many days to find a buyer. Whether it's you or somebody else. When you're assigning the contract you're entering into with the same exact terms as you got into.

This contract is where all the details are: How much you'll pay for the house (even though you're not going to pay for it personally), how long you have to come up with the money (This gives you the time to find the end buyer for the deal - another reason to build your team).

Then when you find the buyer - you sell this contract to the buyer - with the same specified terms. So if you say that you'd close in 30 days, and it takes you 15 days to line up a buyer, you have 15 days to close. Or whatever other terms you stipulated in the contract.

Preferably you're working with great deals, properties you can get for 70 or 80 cents on the dollar. And that's because you will ALWAYS find buyers for these deals.

Once you have the seller under contract, you start promoting the deal through your network, list with a realtor, put an ad in the paper, whatever works. Then you have the seller, you have the buyer - you simply sell the contract.

Once you get started and get your feet wet, you can do 3 or 4 or 5 of these a month - or as much as your team can handle. I've done many projects where I've sold the contracts for a flat fee to another investor or rehabber. It's a great way to build your bank account when you don't have a lot to start with.

Like I said: Get Your MBA (Mega Bank Account) in Less Than 12 Months!

Raul Luna officially became a millionaire before he turned 21! This successful speaker and educator is turning ordinary people into millionaires. Discover his secrets: http://www.moonvesting.com

10 Big Mistakes Novice Real Estate Investors Make

Buying real estate is as popular as ever, and it seems pretty straightforward at first glace. With mortgage interest rates at all time lows and plenty of real estate to buy, many investors truly believe that they can do a bit of cosmetic work, accessorize a bit, and then put up the for rent or for sale sign. Unfortunately, it is not quite that easy and there are some common mistakes that can be avoided if one plans ahead and truly understands what he or she is getting into before investing.

Don't Fall In Love

The first rule of thumb when you are investing in real estate is that you cannot fall in love with any one property. When you are looking at real estate to buy for investment purposes you can't think like a homeowner, you must think like a business owner. Don't think about what you like about a home or a piece of real estate, think about how well it will sell or rent in the current market.

Not Exercising Due Diligence

When you invest in real estate you can't simply invest if the property looks good at face value. A very thorough inspection of the structure needs to be done as well as research on the local market. One must also look into the vacancy rates and average rents for homes or structures that are comparable. A diligent business owner will also look into how the neighborhood is zoned as well as any regulations that will apply to the rental property. You will also want to check into how many other rental properties are in the area and if they are comparable to the property you are looking at.

Forgetting the Rule about Time and Money

Many new investors forget that all home improvements are not as cheap and as straightforward and they hoped that they would be. The rule that most investor's use is that it will take twice as long and three times the money than you would think to ready a unit for rent or sale. Real estate isn't transformed over night, so one must plan accordingly. Failing to plan ahead for this can leave you in a real bind where you lose money because you don't have the resources to complete a project.

Believing You'll Secure the Lowest Mortgage Rates

Television can be very deceiving for those that are in the real estate investment business. The low mortgage rates are not offered for just anyone, they are for owner occupied homes, which are considered much less of a risk than a unit that is rented out. Homes that will not be owner occupied will experience mortgage rates that are 1.5 to 2% higher, which can make for a huge difference in monthly payments for the investor and his or her tenants. You also need to be aware of your credit, if you have terrible credit you won't have much luck getting a loan, but the better your credit is the better your rate will be.

Failing to Pre-Screen Tenants

Many new landlords are so anxious to get their new tenants moved in that they forget all about screening them to be sure that they have a relatively clean credit history, they are gainfully employed, and that they have a good rental history. While screening tenants can take a bit longer than you might like to wait, it's easier to get this done than to try to evict a tenant. It's always better to pre-screen than deal with the headaches later.

Breaking Your Own Rules

New investors often set business rules for themselves, and then occasionally they get a bit soft. If you have established rules about what day the rent is due, pet policies, waterbeds, or lawn care, stick with those rules. The minute you stop obeying your own rules you set your self up for disaster. If you stick to your rules and you refuse to break them no matter the situation, you will find that you are much more successful in a business sense.

Investing in Obscure Areas

Generally, it is not a good idea to invest in properties that you cannot visit regularly. Long distance real estate investments leave you out in the cold and you may have no idea what is going on in or around your property. It is a good rule of thumb to only invest in areas that you live.

Paying More than the Property Is Worth

New investors often do not do the proper research and end up paying more for a property than it is worth. When you are investing you have to think about yourself, even if that means that you have to low-ball the seller at first. Investing in real estate is all about getting the right price for you. You need to know that you can cover your mortgage and your expenses from a rental payment, so really consider what the local market will allow.

Failing to Look into the Competition

It's a good idea to look at the competition, especially if they are successful. Lower payments, exciting features, and more will often help fill rental units. Pay attention to what works in your area and duplicate it if possible.

Not Acquiring Enough Insurance

Being under insured is a common mistake of new real estate investors. You need to know that your insurance company will cover accidents on the property as well as damage due to fires or natural disasters.

As you can see, there are a lot of mistakes that you can make. Luckily, if you plan ahead and do not rush into real estate investment you can avoid a lot of these pitfalls, saving you a lot of time and money. Avoiding mistakes will help you become a much more successful real estate investor.

Andrew owns a website that offers useful guide on real estate business. Vist his website at: http://www.buy-and-sell-house-fast.com/ for more tips.