Showing posts with label Property. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Property. Show all posts

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Rental Property Grants - Free Money For Investors

Did you know that rental property grants can help real estate investors get the financing they need to buy rental properties and multifamily units? This is free money that that is provided by the government to assist investors and help them close more deals. It's a secret that most real estate investors don't know about, and those who do tend to not want to share this information.

The government provides many different kinds of real estate grants for investors because they are a major player when it comes to a stable housing market. By providing rental property grants, the government can assist these investors who are capable of flipping or renting out properties, but don't have the capital for a down payment or other closing costs.

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Once an investor obtains rental property grants, they may be able to receive these funds over and over again. And because these are not loans, applying for this free government money does not require a credit check, a cosigner or any kind of collateral. This is cash that is provided to the investor from the government and never has to be paid back.

Of course the government is not just going to hand this money out to any person that applies for free grant money. There is an application process, and they'll want to see the deal that you are working on and how you plan to make money from it. As long as the numbers check out and you meet the qualifications, you'll have cash in hand to complete the deal.

Rental Property Grants - Free Money For Investors

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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Adding Value to Commercial Property

Investing in commercial property can be a lucrative venture. However, you can capitalize on your return by boosting your commercial property's value by adding some investment friendly features. These improvements can run the gamut from a substantial initial payment to a mere investment of your time and sales skills. You can take a piece of undeveloped land and increase its value exponentially by using a few techniques to give it more selling power and you a higher profit.

Property that is on or near golf courses, lakes and the ocean (beachfront) will be a sure fire profit draw. Purchasing raw property that is near one of these profit boosters and adding some improvements such as retail or rental property will greatly increase the value of the land. Ocean front condos are great for increasing your profits from commercial property.

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In order to successfully invest in commercial property, you must have a comprehensive understanding of the criteria that is relevant to investing in commercial property. Once you know the ins and outs of real estate improvements, you can take aggressive steps in making a substantial profit.

There are various types of commercial property. Offices tend to have a high value when situated in the central business district of a city. Major office districts, regional centers and suburban centers are other viable areas.

Retail property can also yield a higher value in these areas, but they also do quite well in neighborhood centers and local centers. Location is key in getting the greatest investment potential for your money. Shopping centers, strip shops and malls have a great propensity for investment. However, when purchasing the land, it is typical for the land to come in a parcel of a certain size. Quite often that parcel of land exceeds the desired use and this is where the smart investor can cash in. By leasing the surplus property to other entities, such as popular mass merchandisers that dominate the market and strip malls, supermarkets, major chain corporations and some specialty shops and you have a recipe for great profits. In short, if you build a shopping mall on your property, then lease the surrounding property to Wal-Mart, Lowes, Old Navy and have some strip malls as well as a couple of restaurants and you have a money making machine.

Commercially zoned real estate can be improved by converting it to a multiple use property - office, retail, residential. Adding showrooms and offices such as with predominantly wholesale sales and car parking stations or multi level car parks are other good ways to increase a property's value. Industrial improvements such as warehouses, factories, workshops and specialized properties such as brickworks, breweries, gas works and other similar properties.

Residential land like subdivisions and housing estates can be developed with improvements to increase the value. Adding ponds and other improvements to rental properties such as apartment complexes and strip malls will greatly increase the property's value. You can also accomplish increases in value by zoning from a lower density, such as agricultural, to a higher density, such as commercial. By annexing property into the city, you can add property value as it is within the city limits. This and rezoning takes some coordination with the city government, but if you can show benefits, often it will pass if there is little or no opposition from the community.

Rental and residential properties are relatively simple to improve, thus boosting their values. A simple coat of paint, renovation, updates in fixtures and landscaping can go a long way in increasing the value. If you have raw land you can develop it, but doing something as simple as adding utilities and installing roads can go a long way in increasing the property's value. Then it has development potential. You can also reduce your own costs by passing all utility costs on to the tenants. Placing a coin operated laundry facility on the premises of rental properties, apartment complexes or other similar properties. However, placing a coin operated laundry facility in a strip mall or building near or on a college campus or apartment complex can be outstanding for increasing value.

In fact, properties that are in or near a college campus, particularly restaurants, specialty stores and other facilities can prove to be extremely valuable. College campuses have a rather steady influx of constant traffic, even during the summer due to summer terms. The students residing in the dorms, in particular, are somewhat captive consumers because driving off campus can be inconvenient. Therefore, placing all necessary facilities, grocery stores and laundry facilities, on campus or just off campus will attract a great deal of traffic. This will be an attractive incentive for a buyer.

One of the final applications for increasing the value in commercial property is luxury positioning. Luxury is always an attractive asset. Building a luxury property or situating it such as on the ocean or as beachfront property. Consider some of the higher value properties that are well known and think about the surrounding areas. Luxury estates on the grounds of a country club or golf course will greatly increase the value. People are attracted to lush living conditions and they are willing to pay handsomely for those lush living conditions. You can facilitate that with improvements that cater to those desires.

It does not matter if you are developing raw land to improving on existing structures. An apartment complex, office park, shopping mall or warehouse, making additions to the property as detailed here will increase the value to the property and increase profits. To make optimum improvements to properties will increase the value and drive sales. Location is key, as is considering the population that will frequent the property. This could lead to additional improvements and to additional properties and developments. Assessing the location and population will go a long way in driving your profits to the properties and you can help to shape the markets by adjusting price and land improvements. With this knowledge, you can get the most from your commercial property.

Adding Value to Commercial Property

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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Property Management Fees Explained

 When you hire a property management company to serve as the liaison between yourself and your tenants, you want to be sure you're getting the best possible property management services for the money. The services a property management company provides can range from ala carte to an all-in-one inclusive package. Along with that comes an array of fees for each. There is no set in stone fee structure we can provide you. But we can educate you on what common fees to expect and what each is commonly for. In the end it will be up to you to compare company fee structures and choose the best one that fits within your budget. Below are some of the most common fees and what service they provide.

Commission

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This is an ongoing monthly fee charged to the owner to compensate the property manager for the responsibilities of overseeing the management of their property. This fee can vary from as little as 3% to over 15% of the monthly gross rent. In place of a percentage some managers may charge a flat monthly amount which again can vary from to over 0 per month. All property management companies generally charge this fee.

Lease-Up or Setup Fee

This fee is charged to the owner to compensate the property manager for their initial time invested and resources used in setting up an owners account; showing property and/or other activities resulting in tenant placement. I guess you could look at it as a "finders fee" for placing a tenant in your property. Once a tenant has been placed and first rent income comes in, the property manager will deduct this fee from the rent proceeds. Some property managers have been known to require this fee upfront prior to tenant procurement. Usually this fee is non-refundable once the property manager has started the process of tenant procurement or any legwork has been initiated with the property. This fee can vary from none to as much as the first months rent, and usually is a one-time fee per tenant.

Lease Renewal Fee

This fee is charged to the owner when a property manager renews a current tenants lease and covers the costs of initiating paperwork or communication involved in implementing the new lease document. A property manager may also justify this fee if they perform a year end inspection of property. This fee can vary from none to 0 or higher, and may be charged every time a lease renewal is implemented.

Advertising Costs

Depending upon the property management company's contract, either they will pay the advertising costs or the owner or they could split the costs. If the manager is willing to cover this cost, most likely they will charge the lease-up or setup fee as outline above. If the management company covers this cost make sure to find out what type advertising or marketing of your property is included. If it's placing your listing on their own web site and other free online classified sites you may not be getting your monies worth. They are many good rental or tenant resource online web sites that bring in qualified tenants for a reasonable fee and you will want to consider these. And don't forget about print media, yard signs, listing on the MLS or even an open house. Nothing is worst than having your property vacant, bringing in no money only because you or your property manager skimped on advertising.

Maintenance Mark-up Charges

This is one of those costs you may never really of known about or had it disclosed to you. A "Mark-up" is a charge over and beyond the final bill on maintenance and/or repair work done to your property initiated by your property management company when using their vendors or in-house maintenance staff. This should be disclosed in your Manager/Owner contract which usually will state the markup as a percentage above the final invoice from vendor. For example, your manager had to call a plumber to replace the dishwasher in your rental property. Total charges for completing the job: 0. If your property manager contract states you will incur a 10% markup on all maintenance work the actual cost to you will be 0. Just one of those things to be aware of as these all eat into your profits.

Early Cancellation Fee

The dreaded "3 months and no tenant". Your property manager insist he or she's doing everything they can to find you a tenant. But here it is 3 months and still no tenant; what do you do. Well, look at your Manager/Owner contract and that might be your deciding factor. I am not a fan of this fee, and believe it to be an unnecessary fee and for you manager out there this could be the deal breaker. I'll tell you why; if a property manager is doing their due diligence and keeping the owners in the loop as far as decision making, market conditions and communication lines open an owner will not be second guessing his property managers abilities. The odds of this scenario happening is unlikely but you must be prepared for it. A cancellation fee can range from none to over 0. To be fair, some managers legitimately deserve this fee especially if they have pocketed advertising costs, incurred lots of legwork and time invested in your property.

"You've Got To Be Kidding Me" Fees - These are ones I have personally had the pleasure of running into.
Your property is vacant, but we still will charge our monthly commission or a small flat fee. "A For-Rent Yard Sign Fee". I believe this was /mo. "Preventive Maintenance Fee". This was to cover the "just in case" and changing out A/C filters. If "just in case" never happens they still pocket the money. I believe this was /mo and I still was charged for filters.
In Summary

Read your Manager/Owner contract, understand what you are signing, ask lots of questions and know what the fees will buy you in services. A good real estate lawyer can help in negotiating the terms in a contract that suit both parties. These contracts are not set in stone. If your property manager will not negotiate, there are other property management companies that are eager to earn your business.

Property Management Fees Explained

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