The author is the founder of www.EastLiving.com.sg . Having accumulated a wealth of experience in dealing with thousands of private home buyers and sellers, Stuart Chng and his team, has honed their real estate negotiation skills and a thorough understanding of the needs and psychology of home buyers. Sign up for EastLiving’s daily Singapore Property News at http://blog.eastliving.com.sg .
Posts Tagged Investment
All About Real Estate Investment Trusts (reits)
Posted by james in Real Estate on November 10th, 2009
real estate is a big business and everyone seems to want to invest in real estate. You keep hearing a lot of stories about how people made a quick buck by investing in real estate. There are stories about people who made $50000 in a fortnight by making the right kind of investment in real estate. Every now and then, newspapers keep coming up with statistics about the appreciation in the real estate prices. There seems a mad rush for investing in real estate (and this gets even bigger when the mortgage interest rates are falling). However, not everyone has the time, money and expertise to be able to profitably invest in real estate. So what does one do? Is there any other option?
Yes, there is another way of investing in real estate and that is through Real Estate Investment Trust. Real Estate Investment Trust is an organisation that invests in real estate as a full fledged business. By investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust, you can become part of the real estate investment party and enjoy profits (of course, the assumption here is that the Real Estate Investment Trust is good and professionally managed).
Investing in Real Estate Investment Trust is very easy too. You can just buy Real Estate Investment Trust shares which trade on all major exchanges. There are certain laws governing the Real Estate Investment Trusts that help them avoiding the tax at corporate levels e.g. it is mandated that Real Estate Investment Trust’s portfolio has 75 percent of investment in real estate. Moreover, 75% of the income of Real Estate Investment Trust must be from rents or mortgage interest. There are various types of Real Estate Investment Trusts. Some Real Estate Investment Trusts own properties themselves and hence feed on the rental income from those properties. Some others indulge in providing only mortgage loans or go for mortgage backed securities. Then there are Real Estate Investment Trusts which do both i.e. rental focussed investments and mortgage based investments.
There are a number of Real Estate Investment Trusts operating in the market and a lot of these Real Estate Investment Trusts are doing good business. By investing in Real Estate Investment Trust you are basically investing in real estate without actually buying a property yourself. This is one easy way of investing in real estate (and much safer too). You must surely evaluate this option for your real estate investments.
How Does Real Estate Investment Work? How Can You Make Money In A Foreclosure?
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 21st, 2009
Can anyone explain how real estate investment work. name some investment you you can make money of. Finally what is the process of foreclosure steps to make money and how does work. 10 points for the top answer.
How Can I Go About Real Estate Investment?
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 16th, 2009
I have some money which I wish to invest in real estate business but I do not know what steps to take exactly. Do I just look for a property and buy and then sell to a high bidder or what?
1031 Exchange or Real Estate Investment Trust?
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 12th, 2009
Over the last several years, real estate has been as hot as any other investment. It wasn’t until recently that real estate cooled a bit. During this time, we’ve all heard the stories of the easy money made investing in real estate. When money was easy, and there was no end in sight to the real estate boom, people were flipping houses like crazy. For many of these individuals, the 1031 exchange money could not be any easier. However, the times have changed. The downturn has taught even the most bullish real estate speculators that real estate can also go down in value. More than ever, investing in real estate, takes professional know-how, time, and resources to successfully invest in real estate. So, how does the average person invest in real estate, this day and age?
Well, there is a way, and it’s been around for quite some time. It’s called a Real Estate Investment Trust, or REIT. A Real Estate Investment Trust is a way for the small investor to invest in big real estate. A Real Estate Investment Trust is an organization that is set up to manage and invest in real estate professionally. You can purchase a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) via the stock exchange in the form of a stock, or privately. Private Real Estate Investment Trusts typically require that certain suitability criteria be met. Also, private REITs are typically longer-term investments, with liquidity considerations. Public Real Estate Investment Trusts can be bought and sold on the stock exchange and are considerably more liquid than their private counterparts.
Investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust can come in many forms. You can purchase a Real Estate Investment Trust that focuses on large-scale commercial real estate, for example. This would allow you to take part in major real estate deals involving 100 plus story buildings, that would otherwise be available to the ultra rich. Some Real Estate Investment Trusts may have their focus in apartment buildings or even new housing construction. The point here is that you can choose your Real Estate Investment Trust sector through one of these REITs. If you want a more professionally managed approach there are a large number of REITs actively managed through the purchase of mutual funds. This can provide for diversification, and individual real estate sectors.
Properly set up Real Estate Investment Trusts are tax-advantaged. This means that they are not taxed at the corporate level. However, they must be set up properly. It is required that REITs invest 75% of their funds in real estate. These requirements are met by income derived from mortgage or rent interest. Essentially, you’re relying on other parties for their expertise in the real estate arena. Going at it alone is tougher than ever these days. You have the typical headaches, like qualifying for a 1031 exchange, property taxes, escrow, title insurance, and so on. But, that’s really the easy part. When the real estate market only went up, the biggest worry for speculators was how to take advantage of a 1031 exchange and save on capital gains. Now, there’s much more to worry about, as real estate not only goes up, but it can certainly come down.
It’s important to keep in mind that Real Estate Investment Trusts also come with inherent risks. If real estate values plummet, and you have a large percentage of your assets exposed to Real Estate Investment Trusts you may experience declines, as well. This is where diversification is very important. The standard Real Estate Investment Trust me diversify you within different types of real estate, but you should always practice further diversification. Investing in different asset classes, sectors, and the life will provide you with further diversification. Make sure to work with a qualified investment advisor or do your due diligence when investing in any type of Real Estate Investment Trust.
If you would like more information on the ins and outs of the Real Estate Investment Trust you can visit the site for more details. Additionally, you can find more on how the 1031 exchange work as well.
Tiger Wood’s Real Estate Investment
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 3rd, 2009
Golfer and now entrepreneur Tiger Woods interview with Scott Wapner about his investments in real estate and the stock market
How Should Profits Be Split On A 3-way Real Estate Investment?
Posted by james in Real Estate on September 21st, 2009
I am involved in a 3-way investment on a rental property and we are being forced to sell because of a DOT project. Our profit on this property will be approximately $75,000 and we need to figure out how to split this up. Being close family members, we weren’t too concerned about figuring this out we bought the property.
I would really appreciate any suggestions from real estate investors experienced with partnership investments like this.
Here are the figures for the capital and work/mangement invested by each party.
Investor #1:
Invested $150, 000 by taking out a regular home loan.
Lived at the property and payed “rent”.
Did 85% of the maintenance, improvements and rental property management.
Investor #2:
Invested $75,000 from a home equity line of credit.
Did 0% of the maintenance, improvements and rental property management.
Investor #3:
Invested $25,000 from a home equity line of credit.
Did 15% of the maintenance, improvements and rental property management.
Thank you!
Why Should You Buy Investment Real Estate In College Towns?
Posted by james in Real Estate on September 11th, 2009
Now seems to be the best time to invest in properties in college towns where housing demand is high due to a soaring rental market according to the New rules of real estate by Business 2.0 Magazine. With home prices still out of home buyer’s range, and homeowners selling their homes due to rising interest rates, rents are expected to increase nationwide. This makes buying investment property in rental markets such as college towns an attractive option, one that is already being pursued by investors. Rents are expected to rise by 5 % by the end of this year according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), and investors are looking at college towns with increased interest.
There are two major reasons why it is prudent to buy investment property in college towns now. When compared with other rental markets, the rentals in apartment buildings in college towns are much stronger and hence more profitable. This has been augmented by the fact that apartment buildings in college towns are fewer in number. This demand for apartment buildings has also increased due to the rising admissions in colleges mostly from the Gen Y or the echo boomers, which has further increased the asking rates in the college town rental markets. These properties have a low vacancy rate, especially in buildings located near the campuses. Investors in commercial apartment buildings also get to increase their rent with the mounting demand making such investment a highly profitable venture.
So if you are a prospective landlord who has decided to encash this favorable situation, then you can start with choosing the college town that has the lowest ratio of university-owned beds to the student population. As Michael Zaransky, co-founder of Prime Property Investors in Chicago says, prospective investors would do well to pick the college towns that have the ratio of university-owned beds to students at 30 % or lower. One should also look into colleges that propose to expand their student ranks by 2 or 3 % every year.
Investors should also need to take into consideration the disadvantages involved in owning commercial apartment buildings in college towns. The business could be trying sometimes, and involves risks with college policies liable to changes and the difficulty involved in predicting volatile student demand. However, considering the high rate of returns that the investment has to offer, the pros seem to far outnumber the cons making buying investment property in college towns a smart option.
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University City Homes
University City Real Estate
How Does One Start A Real Estate Investment Fund?
Posted by james in Real Estate on August 13th, 2009
I want to start an investment fund to invest in real estate.
What are the steps involved?
What Business Type Should I Start My Real Estate Investment Company As?
Posted by james in Real Estate on August 1st, 2009
I need some good advice on whether I should start my California-based real estate investment company as a sole proprietorship, a partnership of some sort, or some kind of a corporation. The general purpose of this company is to purchase and rent out residential and commercial real estate. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
How Do You Get A Local Real Estate Investment Club To Learn About Your House For Sale?
Posted by james in Real Estate on July 26th, 2009
I have a house for sale at an excellent price, no realtors involved, and want real estate investors to take note. How can I persuade the person in charge of our local real estate club to distribute my e-mail regarding my property? They get solicited all the time, I’m sure. I already e-mailed my property offer and photos to the generic property investment club e-mail address, is this enough? Will they distribute it to all of their members?