Category Archives: selling

INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE BY USING OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY

My preferred way to invest in real estate is cash. Many investors do not have that option or they do not have enough cash on hand to finance their investment. For investors like that there are other options out there to make their real estate investment dreams happen.

I am sure you have heard the saying ”using other people’s money” to invest in real estate and that is what I am talking about. Many of you would think of using the banks or credit unions money but creative financing has been a long time a tool in the investor’s tool box. There are other ways out there to finance your investment dreams.

Keep in mind that any form of investing comes with risk and before you begin investing you should educate yourself about the different forms of financing. With any real estate transaction it is also advised to contact an experienced and competent real estate attorney and CPA.

When you have found a property to invest in, and you have already found a buyer for the property, before you closed on it you might consider doing a double closing before you get a loan. During the double closing you buy and sell the property at the same time.

Macro focused in on "In God We Trust"One of the options could be seller financing. During the closing not all of the money is collected that is due to the seller. The seller is taking a promissory note and the title is still transferred to the buyer.

Another option is to take over the seller mortgage. Where the buyer agrees in writing to make the sellers mortgage payment directly to the seller’s mortgage servicer. The mortgage servicer has to agree to the arrangement.

You also can use private money to finance your investment. With all of the restrictions that are put on a mortgage servicer for them to be able to write loans, a source of private money would come directly from wealthy investors who are looking for another way to invest their money other than a bank or the stock market.

Another form of investing is the lease option. The key to this form of financing is to already have a second lessee lined up before you finalize your original lease option agreement. This will keep your money out of the deal. How it works is that you lease the property with an option and you turn around and lease the property to another potential buyer. Both of you have the option to purchase the property for a set price within a certain amount of time. Some investors also call this having a note.

When you already have other investment property you might be able to leverage the other property to get a loan to purchase your investments. It has been very popular in the past and not so much in today’s market.

When you have any question about investing in real estate feel free to contact the Settles Team

PLANNING TO START TO INVEST IN REAL ESTATE?

stock investmentGetting started in Real Estate acquisition could be a scary and daunting undertaking. When you break it down into small action steps the elephant in the room can get smaller and smaller.

Before considering any Real Estate acquisition, especially for investment purposes, consider first building your real estate advisory investment team. On our Settles Team website we have some great information listed for experienced or first time Real Estate investors.

After you have your advisory team in place you need to make some crucial decisions.

For example:

  • How to pay for the investment?
  • Are you planning on holding or turning the investments?
  • When you hold the investments who will manage them?
  • How to take title of the property.

 

There are many more questions you should consider before looking and buying any investment property.

You need to take real estate investing serious and you should consider it as a full time job and not a hobby. Make a business plan with goals, action steps, and an exit strategy.

When you are planning to get into Real Estate acquisition for investment purposes contact the Settles Team. We will be happy to help.

WHAT ARE THE REAL ESTATE FEES FOR SELLERS IN A REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION?


Depending on what type of financing, the loan amount, and the loan length a buyer seeks for the property they are purchasing, the real estate fees for sellers might vary.

Some of the costs a buyer might accrue are

  • the down payment
  • homeowner’s insurance
  • home inspection
  • flood insurance if the property is in a flood zone
  • home owner’s association fees when applicable

Pennies on the Dollar - bill with pennies on white background.Some loans, such as an FHA, VA, or USDA actually require a seller to cover all or some of the closing costs and fees. Some buyers will ask the seller to help them pay for some of the closing costs/fees.

Many of the costs/fees are third party vendor fees like

  • appraisal fees
  • closing fee for the title company
  • title search fee
  • flood determination fee
  • courier fee
  • survey fee
  • Termite/radon/lead base paint inspection
  • Title insurance ( lenders policy)
  • title insurance ( owners policy)
  • buyer’s attorneys fee (not all states)
  • sellers attorney fees (not all states)
  • lenders attorney fees (not all states)

The fee amount varies by state, loan amount, and type of loan. You should contact your local title rep, closing attorney, or mortgage provider for a more comprehensive list within your state. Some states might have additional costs/fees a seller or buyer are required to pay before they close a transaction.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REAL PROPERTY AND PERSONAL PROPERTY?


There sometimes is confusion between the terms real property and personal property. Especially when it comes to real estate. The legal definition for real property, taken from The Free Dictionary By Farlex is:

1) all land, structures, firmly attached and integrated equipment (such as light fixtures or a well pump), and anything growing on the land…

Let me give an example:

Modular Homes

When a modular home is placed on a foundation and the wheels have not been removed from its frame it is still considered personal property.

On the other hand when a modular home is placed on a foundation, permanently fastened to that foundation, and the wheels are removed, the modular home becomes real estate.

Confused?

Here is anothFrames of rooster placed above the fireplaceer example.

A picture you hang on the wall with a nail and you hang the picture on the nail, the nail becomes real estate and the picture is personal property.

When you screw the picture directly onto the wall, like some restaurants do to make sure the pictures are not getting stolen, the picture now becomes real estate.

As a seller you need to keep in mind and understand the difference between real property and personal property especially when you are planning on selling your home and you would like to keep certain items such as light fixtures or shelving for example.

Anything that is permanently fixed to the land, or permanently fixed to the structure on the land, is real property. Everything else, not permanently attached to the land or structure, is personal property.

When you have questions feel free to contact the Settles Team.

CENTRAL INDIANA HOME STATISTIC UPDATE FOR MARCH

The Central Indiana’s housing inventory still remains low just like the rest of the nation, even as we have buyers ready to pounce due to the still low interest rate. New Listings in central Indiana increased 3.8 percent to 3,968. Pending or sales in escrow are down by 7.3 % and the overall Inventory levels reduced by 6.0%. I am not surprised! Homeowners are still a little gushy when it comes to listing their home and due that we currently have an inventory of 4.7 months. That is down by 14.9%.

Right now between 7.3% and 8.5% of pending or in-escrow offers are not closing. The reason could be that the property is not passing inspections, buyer cannot get financed for some reason, the property does not appraise for the agreed purchase price, or the buyers are not willing to or not able to bring additional money to the table. When a property closes the price is on average about 92.4% of the original asking price.

In the nearby area of Hancock County, the number of properties available increased 22.1% over last year. Morgan County did not perform as well showing the largest decrease in available listings, indicating a 21.2% loss over last year. Hamilton County has seen the largest increase in home pricing over last year with 26.1% in comparison to Decatur County where home prices decreased over last year by 24%.

List of Counties from the highest % increase in available properties to the least:

County

new listings

Hancock County

22.1

Johnson County

19.2

Boone County

14.6

Hamilton County

12.1

Shelby County

8.3

Hendricks County

5.1

Marion County

0.3

Madison County

-8.1

Decatur County

-10.8

Brown County

-12.9

Putnam County

-15.7

Montgomery County

-19.6

Morgan County

-21.2

 

County from highest % increase to the lowest when it comes to median sales price of home:

 

County

Med Sales price

Hamilton County

26.1

Putnam County

24.7

Boone County

24.1

Johnson County

11.3

Marion County

9.8

Morgan County

2.2

Madison County

-1

Hendricks County

-1.4

Hancock County

-1.8

Shelby County

-6.4

Montgomery County

-15.4

Brown County

-16

Decatur County

-24

BUYER’S URBAN BUYING TREND IS NOT SLOWING DOWN

With the downtrend of the market many buyers, first time and seasoned buyers, are rethinking the location of where they will buy their home. Many families moved to the suburbs for various reasons and left the urban lifestyle behind.

The tide is changing and more and more buyers are moving from the suburbs back into the urban areas. There are many reasons why the change in migration. Looking at the buyers, who are currently moving back and planning on becoming urbanites, the reasons are very different but also similar at the same time.

urbanSome of them are looking for the connectivity and closeness of work, home and play. They can just keep the car parked and maybe either walk or take the bicycle to work. Others might just look for the entertainment and closeness to shopping and friends.

I hear many of them talk about the travel time that is spent traveling from their suburban home to their work. Most of the time they would like to spend this driving time with friends or family rather than sitting in the car. Looking at the overall trend the migration from the suburbs to the urban areas will have a steady flow. Suburban lifestyle is not dead by far but the face of the areas will take on a different look.

WHAT IS A QUALIFIED MORTGAGE (QM)?

Question Mark Key on Computer KeyboardThe Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which became federal law on July 21, 2010 used the term “qualified mortgage” (QM) first. You need to envision the QM loan like a funnel were everything needs to filter though and this funnel was given certain government guide lines it needs to meet. Some of this information came from the Qualified Mortgage website and I encourage every buyer to read up on the information.

The type of loan that comes out of the bottom of the funnel is a Qualified Mortgage (QM) that meets certain government standards:

  1. Borrowers Debt-To-Income (DTI) ratios are not to be HIGHER than 43% based on monthly gross income.
  2. Loan terms cannot be longer than 30 years.
  3. Borrowers lending points and fees cannot exceed 3% of the total amount borrowed.
  4. Cannot be a negative amortization loan.
  5. Cannot be an interest only loan.
  6. Cannot have a balloon payment.

Now that you and your mortgage have passed the federal QM rules, you now you need to be able to pass your lenders rules before they lend you the money. This is where I found some borrowers are confused.

Some of their rules might include:

  1. Acceptable credit rating
  2. Acceptable time on the job
  3. Proof of income
  4. Proof of expenses

It is also possible that the borrowers Debt-To-Income (DTI) ratio is LESS than the 43% required by the Feds but at the same time the lender may be using a DTI as little as 35%. This would cause you to not get approved for the loan. Yes, many lenders now use tighter rules than the federal QM guidelines to assure they will not have to foreclose on borrowers because they cannot pay for their mortgage.

When you have further questions feel free to contact us. We are not mortgage advisers but we have connections with some great advisers we seek for advice when we have questions ourselves.

IS THE NEIGHBORS DOG STALLING THE SALE OF YOUR HOME?

Terrier Dog  and Cat Sitting on a SofaMany times I receive feedback like this from other agents when they show a property that is listed with me; “The buyer likes the house but the neighbors loud dog, trash, ugly yard is a total turn off”.

There is really not much you can do about your neighbors, especially when it comes to an over the top barking dog. I did see that some homes sold for much less than some of the area comps due to snarling, barking dogs. Many families with kids refuse to buy a home when there is a snarling, barking dog because they are afraid the dog will harm the kids. The barking dog can also be a turn off.

One thing you can do is get with your neighbor. Invite them over and let them hear from your side of the fence how their animals sound when you are trying to have a conversation. During the conversation you might suggest the dog trainer you used to help you train your dog or maybe the doggy daycare you take your dogs to when you are out. A worn out and tired dog is a happy and sleepy dog and has no time to bark.

Also do your homework. Many towns have ordinances in place that does address things like barking dogs. See what ordinance could apply in your case and if you can’t find one during a search contact the town and ask them. They will be glad to help. Not only check for any ordinances but also keep good records of problems just in case you decide to take the case to court. The best scenario would be when the two of you could work it out.

One thing you should not do is threaten the neighbor. Let’s keep it civil.

“KNOW BEFORE YOU OWE” MORTGAGE FORMS

Stack of DocumentsJust as we are getting familiar with the implemented 3 page Settlement Statement, formerly called the HUD-1 form, we will have another change to the new 5 page Closing Statement that must to be in place by August 15, 2015. The other form that will change is the Loan Estimate which will replace the old Good Faith Estimate. When you compare the two (3 page Settlement Statement and new 5 page Closing Statement) you will see some significant changes.

Some of the changes you will immediately notice:

  • The 5 page Closing Statement has to be in the borrower’s hands three business days before closing.
  • At the closing table the 5 page closing statement replaces the 3 page Settlement Statement HUD-1
  • Another change is the name from Settlement Statement to Closing Statement.
  • The Settlement Statement was broken down in line numbers from 100 to 1400
  • The Closing Statement is broken down in sections from A to J and in addition you will see the loan terms, Projected Payments, Cost at closing, loan cost, and any other cost you will face at the time of closing.

The reason for the changes to the Closing Statement is to help borrowers understand all the options that are available to them. They can then choose the deal that’s best for them and later at the closing table they can avoid costly surprises.

The Loan Estimate needs to be in the borrowers within three business days after they submit a loan application. This estimate provides a summary of the key loan terms like loan amount, interest rate, monthly principal, and interest. It also gives you the estimated loan and closing costs. All the lenders have to use the same form after August 15th 2015 and this will make it much simpler for the borrower to shop and compare different mortgages.

HOMEOWNERS THAT ARE FACING FORECLOSURE MIGHT HAVE EQUITY IN THEIR HOME

saving for collegeIn some areas, where home prices have risen enough, may offer homeowners who were once upside down with their loans alternative options rather than going through foreclosure. Many homeowners who are going through foreclosure might not realize that they now have positive equity and could either refinance their loan or sell the home without having to go through a short sale.

This would be great news for many home owners who were once upside down but is now no longer the case. The interest rate is still low and the home should be easy to sell. This would also help potential buyers because the inventory of homes for sale is low even though we should be at that heart of a great selling season.

When you think you are in an area where the home prices have risen and your homes value has risen with the local market, and you suspect you are no longer upside down with your loan, you should contact first your mortgage servicer and find out if there are now other options for you. You should also contact a local real estate professional or appraiser to let them run an evaluation on your home.

When the evaluations by your agent or appraiser show that the market value of your home is higher than your current total loan amount you owe, you might be able to put your home on the market without having to do a short sale. This would open the market to more interested buyers  other than the investors who are looking for a deal.

The closing date can be set based on the buyer’s qualification when the purchase price is higher than your outstanding mortgage balance. You as the seller would no longer have to ask the lender for final approval to close the transaction. You just close it as a regular transaction.