Posted by Lacy O'Leary · March 27, 2018 1:55 PM
Logansport, Indiana (www.cityoflogansport.org)
Everybody loves a “small town,” right? The charm, the people, you name it. A lot of those notions are pure romanticized imagination but there are some aspects of small towns that make them attractive and therefore a great place to live and invest. The folks over at Realtor.com put pen to paper and sent their folks out to find the best small towns in America where you can find affordable, good-looking housing, safe communities and fun things to do. They looked at over 500 U.S. cities with populations between 10k-50k and came up with rankings based on items which include: median home price, unemployment rate, crime rate, overall housing costs and unique things (food, culture, activities, etc). Indeed…
Here are Realtor.com’s top 10 “affordable” small towns:
- Logansport, IN
- Mexico, MO
- Guymon, OK
- Defiance, OH
- Albert Lea, MN
- Emporia, KS
- Lexington, NE
- Shewano, WI
- Dumas, TX
- Spencer, IA
Click here to read the full story on Realtor.com.
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Posted by Lacy O'Leary · March 27, 2018 12:29 PM
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Posted by Lacy O'Leary · March 06, 2018 11:21 AM
According to recent data published by the Mortgage Bankers Association, U.S. homeowners are seeing a dramatic increase in the amount of equity in their homes while at the same time seeing a big decline in the amount borrowed through home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) – the lowest since 2008. Using data from the Federal Reserve, they report that estimates owners’ equity is $14.1 trillion. However, they do suggest that as interest rates rise, HELOC’s might become more attractive to potential borrowers seeking to preserve the low rate of interest in their current mortgage.
MBA Source: Federal Reserve
Click here to read the full story on MBA.org.
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Posted by Lacy O'Leary · March 06, 2018 11:15 AM
Anyone who has ever flipped a house knows about the potential perils of what kind of wiring the house has and when was it last upgraded. Depending on the age & condition of the house it could be extremely costly or maybe just a cheap fix. However, you have to know what to look for and what you’re looking at. Today’s infographic from John K McCraw Electrical discusses common items in older homes, what you might need a permit for, and some general due diligence items when flipping a home. Happy Friday!!
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Posted by Lacy O'Leary · February 19, 2018 9:56 AM
A new initiative being developed by Airbnb, in partnership with Fannie Mae and several lenders, would allow homeowners wishing to refinance their homes the ability to count, as income, funds generated from their properties listed on the homesharing site. According to a recent article on Curbed, Airbnb will supply a Proof of Income statement that hosts can now include when applying with Quicken Loans, Citizens Bank, and Better Mortgage in order to refinance an existing mortgage.
“This initiative was developed with Fannie Mae to identify new ways of recognizing home-sharing income, making it possible for homeowners to maximize their investment to better reach their financial goals,” Airbnb said in a statement. “The project is part of Fannie Mae’s work to find new, innovative ways to expand the availability of affordable mortgage credit.”
Click here to read the full story on Curbed.com.
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Posted by Lacy O'Leary · February 19, 2018 9:53 AM
In a recent episode of Real Estate News for Investors, Kathy Fettke talks about a corner of the hemp market that she says is “shaking up the construction industry.” It’s called hempcrete (that’s right hemp + concrete) and it’s a green building material that dates back to the Roman times that is starting to become popular in the U.S. And, before you ask, industrial hemp contains less than .03% THC (the stuff that gets you high)….marijuana typically contains between 5% and 35% THC.
“Not only is hemp used to create a concrete-like building material, it’s also a fast-growing, sustainable plant. Crops mature in about 4 months. The woody fibers are then mixed with water and lime. When they cure, the result is a strong, lightweight material that is resistant to fire, mold and bugs. It’s also breathable and non-toxic with no off-gassing, and provides exceptional insulation.”
Click here to read the transcript on RealWeathNetwork.com.
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Posted by Lacy O'Leary · February 06, 2018 10:56 AM
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Posted by Lacy O'Leary · February 06, 2018 10:54 AM
What makes up a first-time home buyer? The National Association of Realtors recently put together this handy infographic using data from their 2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. So, what do they look like?
- Age – 32 years old
- Household income – $75k
- Cost of home purchased – $190k
- Down payment amount – 5%
- Student loan debt – $29k
- Type and location – Single-family home in a suburban area
Click here to read the whole story.
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Posted by Lacy O'Leary · November 14, 2017 11:23 AM
by Larry Goins
Every investor knows that you need to get a good price on something if you want to make a profit. This is such common knowledge it seems strange that so many investors are afraid of making low offers. In my experience, low offers are always the best. They might not be accepted every time but they are the source of my best deals. I’ll tell you why.
One of the things that I have learned is that the lower the price of the property the lower percentage of list price they will accept. I have gotten offers accepted typically between 25% and 60% with most being in the 30% to 50% range.
Typically, the offers I make that are accepted have been around 30 to 40% of the listing price on lower priced homes and around 40 to 50% on higher priced homes. For example, if a house is listed for $30,000, then it is not unusual for me to get an offer of $10,000 accepted; however, if a house is listed for $100,000, they will probably not take $30,000 for it.
Now they are both around 30% offers, but the higher the price, the less likely they are to take a 30% offer. On that $100,000 they would probably not take less than $50,000 to $60,000, based on my experience. Now don’t think that every $100,000 house you make an offer on they will accept a 50 to 60% offer. It’s not going to happen. Remember that we have to make lots of offers to get one accepted.
Some investors simply make an offer on every home that is available to them for some fixed percentage of market value, like 30 to 50% in my case.
The lower your offer is, the fewer will get accepted, but the more likely it is that when one is accepted it will be a screaming deal (and therefore a safer deal, especially if it is your first one).
We recently got a bid accepted of $28,000 on a house that was listed for $109,000. Now the reason we got this bid accepted was because the property was a two bedroom property; however, the property has almost 2000 square feet. So our thoughts were to simply figure in our repair estimate to add another bedroom within the existing square footage. There was plenty square footage to work with. So we made the offer and got it accepted.
Simply put, lower bids get accepted more often than you think. When they do get accepted you stand to make much more money than with a higher bid. I hope this has helped to open your eyes a bit. You can hear even more about this in my latest book.
Larry Goins is an author, trainer and national speaker. Previously, Larry served as president of the Metrolina Real Estate Investors Association in Charlotte, NC and has written several books on real estate investing that are available wherever books are sold. He is making his latest book HUD Homes Half Off! available for free for a limited time by clicking here.
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Posted by Lacy O'Leary · November 14, 2017 11:19 AM
BY BRAD BECKETT ON NOVEMBER 9, 2017
ATTOM Data Solutions recently released its Q3 2017 Single Family Rental Market report identifying the top 25 U.S. zip codes for buying single family rental homes based on potential rental yields, cash flow, vacancy rates, appreciation, population growth, neighborhood quality, and average property age. The report analyzed SFR market data from nearly 5k zip codes and over 400 counties where they found, among other things, that the top zip codes for buying single family rentals in were in Atlanta, Houston, Central Florida, and Dallas.
“This top 25 list includes zip codes that not only have solid rental returns and positive cash flow opportunities, but are also located in neighborhoods with relatively low vacancy rates and with home price growth and population growth — which should continue to put upward pressure on rental rates,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions.
Click here to read the full report on ATTOM Data Solutions.
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