Friday, November 7, 2008

The Team You Need to Buy and Sell Foreclosed Homes

By Erin Cureton

Buying Realtor In order to get the best deals on the market, you need to have a realtor who is familiar with the foreclosure market. They work directly for one or multiple banks in the area that are trying to sell distressed homes. These realtors can give you advice on the market, advice on how to bid for a property, and they often have connections with a Loan Officer who can get you financed in today's market. Ask for referrals from people who buy or sell homes.

Mortgage Professional I do not endorse any lender over another, but I do get financing from Wells Fargo and Countrywide, two of the largest mortgage lenders. Your mortgage broker must be up to date with the change in the market. Many times the mortgage professional at larger lending institutions will be more capable of adjusting to this market and the changing needs of it. You need a mortgage professional who will be honest with you and work quickly for you. Today's mortgage market is different than it was 1 month ago, 5 months ago, 1 year ago.

Selling Realtor If you get the right buying realtor, they won't have time to sell your home. They are too busy with their bank contracts. The key is to find an agent who is honest with you to price your home correctly to ensure a sale. You need a selling agent that is well versed in your city, or even in your neighborhood. Mortgage, taxes and utility payments can easily run into the thousands of dollars and cost you time gong towards your next project. Time is money when you are flipping a house. Price it wrong and you could carry a property months longer than you should.

Home Inspector Sounds simple enough, but if you don't get this right it can cost you dearly. Imagine buying a house without running radon tests or asbestos tests, only to find out months and tens of thousands of dollars later that you can't sell because the beautifully remodeled home is contaminated. It happens. Choosing the right home inspector can save you time and money. Also, if you pay attention to the home inspector reports, you will learn what to look for when you first visit a house. The key to choosing a home inspector is to make sure they hold certifications and can check your investment for mold, radon, lead paint, and asbestos.

Contractor They will help you with cost controls. Holes in dry wall are easy to repair sometime for less than 100 dolars. While this looks bad and me keep the house from selling it is an easy fix. As the investor, a lot of what you need to know to buy wisely is learned by working with your contractor. The contractor controls the pace of work. The contractor also spends your money for you. They help you to develop and adhere to a budget.

Suppliers You can save a lot of money buying wholesale. Typically you can find a wholesaler through an internet search or in the phone book under Building Supplies - Wholesale. To get an account, you need a company name, a credit card and a bank account, that's it. Don't buy retail! Home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes charges 20-40% markups for nearly every product on their shelves.

CPA This is not where you want to save money with turbo tax. An experienced CPA will help you save thousands. Make sure they are familiar with real estate investing. Also don't wait till after the first of the year. sometimes you can make changes in Nov and Dec that will salve you thousands. Make sure they have degree in accounting, they don't actually have to be a CPA.

Attorney They can help you decide whether you should incorporate, form an LLC or go it alone as a sole proprietor. A real estate attorney can save you money on title work, can draw up rental/ lease agreements and can advise you on tax strategy when buying and selling your real estate. If you buy a commercial building a real estate attorney is a must.

Insurance Agent Like all other team members, it is key to find an agent that you know and trust to handle your real estate insurance needs. You need to ask tough questions to your agent and consider what your exposure will be to loss from fire, flood, theft, or injured workers/ tenants. If your policy leaves you exposed in any one of these major areas, your work could all be done for nothing.

Friends & Family If you feed them well, provide a frosty beverage or two, and don't overwork them, the friends and family work crew will have fun, make your job more fun and most importantly work for free. Jobs like light demolition, painting, cleanup and many yard projects can be handled by anyone who owns a home. - 15359

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