Hi Everyone --- I'm riding the real estate train
Consider this simple example ... I just had the opportunity and good fortune a while back to be able to find a 4 bedroom/2.25 bath, 7 year old home for $193,300. The appraisal came in at $250,000. It was a foreclosed upon home that just sat for a few months until the bank just decided to give it away. You can get some great buys all year, but especially in the Nov. - Feb. period when there's far fewer people looking and then resale in the Spring and Summer when there is more buyers out there.
With today's flexible loans and my high credit scores, I can pick up any home for actually less than 0% down (i.e. even 107% LTV loans are available at 4% or less on a 6 month or 1 year ARM and 5.5% fixed). Anyone with scores over about 700 can qualify for some great programs.
Now, do the math.
Aprroximately $3,000 in closing costs, spend $3,000 in new carpets and paint, $1,000 in carrying costs, inspection services, etc. and you've got $7,000 max into this.
Then put the home back on the market, sell conservatively for $245K with 6% selling fees. That gives you a "net" of $230,000 in 3 months (or a $30,000 gain in 3 months).
Initial investment = $7,000
Profit in 3 months = $30,000
Gain in 3 months = 425%
Risk of losing money = ZERO (or essentially so)
Time involved = about 30 hours in finding and negotiating.
Profit per hour = $1,000
Replicate this with larger, higher quality homes and it even gets better.
That's why I am not around much. The stock market is challenging, sometimes fun, but often manipulated and illogical. Also, lots of guesswork about earnings, unexpected bad or good news. Lots of greed, negative people (thankfully a few good people), and a slave to your computer screen every day for several hours. All in all, too much gambling for me.
In Real Eastate, figuring out how to win is way easier and there is no virtually no worry. You just need good credit scores, a good agent (of which I am one) and inspector and just repeat your virtualy no-risk formula over and over.
Anyway ---- I also go off on my photography trips whenever I can. My blood pressure is way down and my Carpel's from all the dam typing I used to do is gone.
All the best to all the good people out there...take care
Dave (Bob) |
