By Shae Bynes
As a newbie investor it is easy to be overwhelmed as you’re getting started. You’re trying to determine what type of investing you’re going to focus on, trying to get some cash saved up to use as earnest money deposits or for marketing, and trying not to be distracted by weekly real estate investing webinars selling you a new dream, another course, another service, another mentoring program.
I understand.
Having a vision of what you’re looking to accomplish with your real estate investing is key, and hopefully you have already put together a 90-day action plan to build your business. A key part of that action plan is networking. It’s been noted by top success and achievement experts that working together with others and establishing relationship is vital to reaching your goals – it’s hard to be successful operating in a vacuum. Networking with others is going to help you move faster, smarter, and plus it can be fun to meet new people. So like James Brown famously sang “Get up off of that thing!”…. and network!
So who should you be networking with as a newbie investor?
At some point you will have an extensive network of people: other investors, realtors (brokers and agents), real estate attorneys, mortgage brokers, escrow (title company) officers, general contractors, accountants, property managers.
As a newbie investor, I suggest you immediately start with other investors and realtors (brokers and agents). Through these contacts you will begin to extend your network further as needed. For example, another investor can tell you which title company to use to do simultaneous closings if you’re a wholesaler.
8 great ways to get started networking Read more…
Dennis Norman
According to Freddie Macs weekly mortgage market survey mortgage rates increased slightly this week from the prior week. The survey shows 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaging 5.25% with 0.7% in fees and points, up from 5.20% the week before. Last year at this time, the 30 year rate averaged 6.52%.
Rates on 15 year fixed-rate mortgages held steady at 4.69%, 5/1 ARM’s held about the same at 4.75% and 1 year ARM’s rose slightly to 4.80%. This time last year these arms were 6.07% and 5.27% respectively.
“Bond yields rose slightly higher this week on market optimism that the economy may be stabilizing somewhat and mortgage rates followed those yields,” said Fronk Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist.
“Other economic reports confirm that the housing market may indeed be bottoming out. New home sales rose for the third consecutive month in June to an annual pace of 384,000 homes, the most since November 2008 and the number of new houses on the market fell to the lowest amount since February 1999, according to the Department of Commerce. Sales of existing homes also showed a three-month gain to 4.89 million, the most since October, 2008, and the share of distressed homes fell to 31 percent compared to almost half at the beginning of the year, the National Association of Realtors reported.
By: Dennis Norman
The FBI has issued a consumer alert warning of phony online rental ads. According to the alert, the scam goes like this:
You can’t believe your good fortune-you find a rental home in a nice area through a Craigslist classified ad at an unbelievably low rate. The landlord-who had to leave the country and travel to Nigeria-asks that you wire him two months worth of rent. You arrive at the home on the agreed-upon date, but there is just one small problem- the house is not actually for rent and its owners know nothing about your agreement.
This latest scam is being perpetrated by Nigerian criminals located halfway aroudn the world and has been seen in a number of U.S. states, perhaps in response to the current housing market- with fewer people buying, more people are renting.
The FBI offers these tips to avoid being victimized:
- Only deal with landlords or renters who are local
- Be suspicious if you’re asked to only use a wire transfer service
- Beware of email correspondence from the “landlord” that is written in poor or broken English
- Research the average rental rates in that area and be suspicious if the rate is significantly lower
- Don’t give out personal information, like social security, bank account, or credit card numbers.
By: Dennis Norman
The FBI has issued a consumer alert warning of phony online rental ads. According to the alert, the scam goes like this:
A prospective tenant can’t believe their good fortune-they find a rental home in a nice area through a Craigslist classified ad at an unbelievably low rate. The landlord-who had to leave the country and travel to Nigeria-asks the tenant to wire him two months worth of rent. The tenant arrives at the home on the agreed-upon date, but there is just one small problem- the house is not actually for rent and its owners know nothing about the tenants agreement.
This latest scam is being perpetrated by Nigerian criminals located halfway aroudn the world and has been seen in a number of U.S. states, perhaps in response to the current housing market- with fewer people buying, more people are renting.
The criminals behind this search websites that list homes for sale. They take the information in those ads-lock, stock and barrel-and post it, with their own e-mail address. In an ad on Craigslist (without Craiglist’s consent or knowledge) under the housing rental category. To sweeten the pot the houses are almost always listed with below-market rental rates.
So beware and keep an eye on your vacant homes….unbeknownst to you, they could be used in the scam.
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The National Association of REALTORS(R) has been reporting and tracking a “Housing Affordability Index” since January 1989. The index looks at whether or not an average family (an income equal to the median income) can qualify for a loan to buy a median-priced home.
The Housing Affordabiity Index for June was at 159.2 meaning that a family with an average income has 159% of the income they need to afford an average house. This is down from the revised index for January of this year of 176.9 which makes January the month housing was the most affordable since the National Association of REALTORS(R) began this index 20 years ago. Median home prices have increased 10% since January, rising from $164,200 to $180,600 in June, which has led to the degradation in affordability.
Of the four regions in the U.S. the Midwest is leading the way in affordability with an affordability index of 188.50. The Northeast is the least affordable region coming in at 127.9.
Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
The National Association of REALTORS(R) has been reporting and tracking a “Housing Affordability Index” since January 1989. The index looks at whether or not an average family (an income equal to the median income) can qualify for a loan to buy a median-priced home.
The Housing Affordabiity Index for June was at 159.2 meaning that a family with an average income has 159% of the income they need to afford an average house. This is down from the revised index for January of this year of 176.9 which makes January the month housing was the most affordable since the National Association of REALTORS(R) began this index 20 years ago.
If the index had a value of 100 that would mean a family making the median income has the exact amount of income necessary to qualify for a loan to buy a median-priced home. A value beneath 100 means the family is falling short of enough income and any over 100 means the family has more than enough income.
By: Dennis Norman
Today the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report was released which showed that, although still negative, the annual rate of decline of the 10-City and 20-City Composites improved for the fourth consecutive month in 2009.
The 10-City and 20-City Composites declined 16.8% and 17.1%, respectively, in May compared to the same month last year. These values are improvements over April’s data, which showed annual declines of 18.0% and 18.1% respectively. After 16 consecutive months of record annual declines, beginning in October 2007 and ending in January 2009, the indices have now shown four consecutive months of improvement in annual returns.
“The pace of descent in home price value appears to be slowing” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s. “To put it in perspective, this is the first time we have seen broad increases in home prices in 34 months. This could be an indication that home price declines are finally stabilizing,” he added. Read more…
Today the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report was released which showed that, although still negative, the annual rate of decline of the 10-City and 20-City Composites improved for the fourth consecutive month in 2009.
The 10-City and 20-City Composites declined 16.8% and 17.1%, respectively, in May compared to the same month last year. These values are improvements over April’s data, which showed annual declines of 18.0% and 18.1% respectively. After 16 consecutive months of record annual declines, beginning in October 2007 and ending in January 2009, the indices have now shown four consecutive months of improvement in annual returns.
“The pace of descent in home price value appears to be slowing” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s. “To put it in perspective, this is the first time we have seen broad increases in home prices in 34 months. This could be an indication that home price declines are finally stabilizing,” he added. Read more…
By: Dennis Norman
- Dennis Norman
The new home market continue to shows some life coming back to it which should be encouraging news to investors. This morning the U.S. Department of Commerce released a report showing the sale of New Homes in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, an 11% increase from May.
While the sales numbers for June are still down 21.3% from a year ago, it is still a vast improvement from May’s year over year numbers which showed a 33% decline from a year ago.
Median prices for new homes decreased from $221,600 in May to $206,200 for June. Homes in the $150,000 – $299,999 range continue to dominate sales with 56% of the sales for June falling in this price range.
Perhaps the best news in the report is on the inventory of new homes. Inventory declined again to 281,000 homes which represents an 8.8 month supply based upon current sales rate. This is the lowest inventory we have seen in a long time and is a very positive sign to me. Read more…
Dennis Norman
This morning the U.S. Department of Commerce released a report showing the sale of New Homes in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, an 11% increase from May. The year over year decline lessened, June’s numbers are down 21.3% from a year ago which is a substantial improvement over May’s decline of 33% from the year prior.
Median prices for new homes decreased from $221,600 in May to $206,200 for June. Homes in the $150,000 – $299,999 range continue to dominate sales with 56% of the sales for June falling in this price range.
Perhaps the best news in the report is on the inventory of new homes. Inventory declined again to 281,000 homes which represents an 8.8 month supply based upon current sales rate. This is the lowest inventory we have seen in a long time and is a very positive sign to me. Read more…
