Learn How House Flipping Works

As mentioned, house flipping is a profitable type of real estate investment with the huge potential to earn a profit. However, if you aspire to become house flipper, a huge amount of capital is also needed to purchase a house to flip. 

If capital isn’t a problem at all then you’re ready for the next step, otherwise, you need some form of financing to sustain your aspiration of flipping a house. There are several options to do this, and Lending Home wrote some helpful tips in getting financing for house flipping. Read more below to learn more.

How to Get Financing for Flipping Houses

So you’ve found the house you want to flip, and now it’s time to make an offer on the property. In this piece, we’ll go over your options and how to decide which one is the best fit for your deal and your business. We’ll do a pro and con analysis of the following:

Cash

Once upon a time, an investor proclaimed “cash is king.” And, depending on the circumstances of your deal and your plans to flip other houses in the immediate or near future, cash might be the best option. If you have the cash reserves to buy a property in full, here are some things to consider:

Pros:

Speed. turnaround time from the property belonging to the owner to the property belonging to you. Remember, if you need to close fast and have the cash, you can refinance later and pull most of your equity out of the property.

Inexpensive. Taking out fix and flip loans incurs borrowing costs. There are often application fees and origination fees upfront, and then monthly interest payments for the duration of the loan. Buying in cash means avoiding these costs, which helps your margins.

Ease. Borrowing money can be a time-intensive and often painstaking process. Loan applications will often require you to send in lots of documentation, such as bank statements, tax returns, and other personal info that may be difficult to gather in a timely manner. Also, have you ever used a fax machine? It’s no fun. Many lenders, especially mortgage lenders, are still highly dependent on outdated systems.

Cons:

Capacity. Houses are not cheap—the median cost of an American house is around $200,000. Not many people have cash reserves that large.

Private Money

Ever asked your friend for 20 bucks? Then you’ve experienced what it’s like to borrow from a private money lender. If you opt not to buy in cash, and you have private financiers in your network with the necessary funds, this could be the route for you. We’ll split private money lenders into two categories: private lenders and friends and family.

Private Money: Private Lenders

When we say “private lenders” we are referring to third parties whom you may not necessarily have a close relationship with. These are financiers in your network that are not official corporations and therefore are not regulated in the same way that banks or hard money lenders are. These lenders may offer you funding on a deal-by-deal basis, or offer you access to a line of credit. Learn more about this story here…

As mentioned in the above article, there are several ways for aspiring house flippers to get financing for their house flipping, with each way has its pros, cons, and risks. Choosing the best financing that suits you based on its pros and cons is your decision to take. Also, if you don’t have cash then financing through loans is your option.

Priyanka Prakash of Fundera explains further the best options for the fix and flip loans. There are several best options for it as well. Read the article below to learn more.

Fix and Flip Loans: The 8 Best Options

Researchers from Attom Data found that house flippers renovated more than 200,000 homes in 2017, with an average profit of $68,143 per property. That’s a lot of houses—and a lot of money. Despite the popularity of house flipping, the biggest barrier to entry and success in this space is cash. Without enough money, you can’t purchase the home, pay for renovations, or find a buyer for the property when the time comes to sell.

Fortunately, there are multiple options for fix and flip funding, allowing you to quickly purchase your property and get your project underway. Even with your first flip or your 50th, you can use fix and flip funding options to add to your portfolio and grow your business as a real estate investor.

Here’s what you need to know about eight creative fix and flip loans, how to choose the best one for you, and what to do before approaching a lender. We’ve also included info from house flippers who’ve successfully gotten funding for flipping houses to grow their own real estate businesses.

An Introduction to Fix and Flip Loans

Every house flip starts with actually finding the property. We’re not here to talk about that, but read this link on how to find a house to flip if you’re not quite sure where to start. Once you find the property, you’re left with figuring out how to find funding for your flip.

And unless you’re independently wealthy, you’ll have to borrow money to finance four parts of your house flip:

1. The purchase price of the house (you’ll need to bring 20% to 45% of the purchase price as a down payment depending on the lender)
2. The “holding cost” of the home (e.g. insurance payments, HOA fees, and other costs of owning the home while renovations are underway)
3. Materials and labor for the renovation
4. Realtor costs and closing costs to find a buyer and sell the property post-renovation

The first thing you should know before searching for funding for flipping is that getting traditional bank loans for fix and flip projects usually isn’t the best route.

As a house flipper, you’re essentially a real estate investor, and your income can be seasonal and irregular. So, most banks won’t give you a business loan for fixing and flipping properties. And even if a bank is willing to work with you, their loan product might not be suitable. Bank loans are generally long-term loans—and most flippers buy, renovate, and sell a property within a few months. See full post here…

Each of these options has its pros and cons, so for first-time house flipper, it is crucial to study and understand everything before deciding on the loans you will take. Once you have the money, you may then start with house flipping.

The last important thing to remember is that not all loans for house flipping works. Some loans work and some loans do not work. Justin Pritchard explains further the loans for flipping houses in his article at The Balance. Check out his article below.

Loans for Flipping Houses: What Works and What Doesn’t

A house flipping business can provide a healthy income and the opportunity to change careers. Based on popular television shows, it seems easy to do, and you don’t need to spend years in an expensive education program to be successful.

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it looks. Proper planning and technical know-how are essential, but the greatest roadblock is probably funding — it takes money to make money. So how do you get the money?

Private investors, including people you know and hard money lenders, are the best source of loans for flipping houses. Those lenders do not require the same amount of time and paperwork as traditional banks. Instead, they evaluate the property itself (both before and after improvements) and your ability to successfully complete the project.

Mortgage Loans for Flipping a House?

Traditional home loans will probably not be an option for buying investment properties — at least when you’re starting out.

The good news is that loans from banks and traditional lenders are relatively inexpensive: interest rates are among the lowest you’ll find for investment properties (but you’ll still have to pay closing costs). Unfortunately, these loans are not always practical.

Slow to Close

One of the main challenges with using a traditional lender is the time it takes to close a loan. Lenders require that you fill out an extensive application, and they’ll go through your finances with a fine-toothed comb. If they see anything that raises questions, they’ll ask for more documentation, and they’ll take even more time to review your application. The process rarely takes less than 30 days (45 or 90 days might be more realistic), and investment opportunities often move too fast for that timeline.

Especially if foreclosures or short sales are part of your strategy, you’re likely to be frustrated by the speed of traditional lenders.

Evaluating Income

Traditional lenders base their lending decisions on your ability to repay a loan. They’ll look at how much you earn each month compared to required monthly loan payments to calculate a debt to income ratio. If you’re a real estate investor or otherwise self-employed, you might not have the type of “income” they’re looking for (lenders like to see W-2 forms and pay stubs). Learn more here…

Financing house flipping has lots of dos and don’ts that every aspiring house flippers must take into consideration before diving into the loans. Read and understand every term to avoid getting into a debt trap in case you won’t become successful in your first couple of tries flipping houses.

One key factor in house flipping is being able to sell houses fast. If you don’t know how to sell a house fast, we at Dependable Homebuyers can help you. To learn more, visit https://www.dependablehomebuyers.com/sell-your-house/

Dependable Homebuyers
1402 Belt St, Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 266-6247

We Buy Houses in Baltimore, MD

There are also struggles entry-level homebuyers are facing, and John McManus wrote about this in his article published in Builder Online. Read the article below to know more.

The Real Data on Entry-Level Home Buying Affordability

It’s not only what you look at in monthly payment calculations vs. household income trends–it’s what time period you pick to study the relationship.

Type the term “affordable housing” into Google and 87.6 million or more results will come up in the search.

A day doesn’t go by that we don’t see, hear, talk about affordability, or the lack of it, when it comes to housing rents, prices, trends, etc. Especially at a moment where economic, regulatory, tax, capital flow, demographic, and cultural shifts are playing out, looking ahead at whether this year’s bets on residential real estate investment will pay off as expected or not is cause for high anxiety.

The National Association of Home Builders observes that in 2017, its measures of home purchase affordability ran flat with the prior year, meaning that slightly fewer than six in 10 home sales–new and existing–were affordable to households earning the nation’s median income of $68,000.

Those measures precede, however, the real effects that rising interest rates, lost tax benefits, and higher prices due to global trade dislocation and other factors can have on monthly payments.

What’s more, although household incomes have been rumored to be gaining momentum, what’s going into people’s paycheck hasn’t reflected much of a boost compared with spiraling house prices.

Zelman analysts acknowledge genuine and material widening in the gap that separates recent trends in monthly payment calculations and household income growth, and they also note that mortgage financing costs are still rising, which might further expand that gap.

However, when it comes to conjecture on what factors may wind up influencing entry-level buyer behavior and trends in the months ahead, the Zelman take adds a critical filter of rigor to the data and what it’s measuring. See full post here…

It is currently the actual cost of the house that makes entry-level homebuyers more conservative. Also, housing affordability has declined, which means average income earners currently can’t afford to buy a house during these times. Other options such as rent prices trend also increasing.

Last year was also a bad year for first-time homebuyers. Jen A. Miller wrote about this story in her article at The New York Times. There are several underlying reasons why it happens. Read the article below to learn more.

2018: A Tough Year for First-Time Buyers

Tax law changes, low inventory and tight credit may present extra hurdles this year for people buying their first homes.

Taking the step to buy your first home may feel like a leap — across a canyon. You will probably be spending more money at once than you have ever spent in your life, and committing to spend even more money that you don’t have, all while becoming responsible for something that won’t necessarily love you back.

To make matters worse, 2018 presents a new set of problems for rookie home buyers: a new tax law whose full effects have yet to be felt on homeowner taxes or property values; record low inventory; tough credit; and rising mortgage rates.

So should you make that leap?

What Will the New Tax Law Do to Home Values?

How the new Republican tax plan approved late last year will affect housing isn’t completely clear yet, but buying a home in 2018 will likely become more expensive, especially for buyers who live in high-tax states. Taxpayers used to be able to deduct all of their state and local taxes, including property taxes, state income taxes and city income taxes, from their federal taxes. Now those deductions are capped at $10,000 — and at $5,000 for married taxpayers filing separately.

In New Jersey, for example, the average 2017 property tax bill was $8,690 across the state, according to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, and more than $11,000 in counties that make up the suburbs of New York City. Those homeowners are likely to blow past the new deduction cap before they’re even done with their property taxes.

At the same time, the standard deduction has been raised to $12,000 for single filers and married people filing separately, $18,000 for a head of household and $24,000 for married couples filing jointly. So in 2018, it may make more sense for taxpayers to take the standard deduction instead of itemizing and taking the state and local tax deduction.

For taxpayers who decide to continue itemizing instead of taking the higher standard deduction, the cap on how much of those taxes can be deducted will no doubt hurt, said Sheila Brandenberg, a C.P.A. who serves on the personal finance planning committee for the New York State Society of C.P.A.s. “For most of my clients, those two numbers were over $10,000 when you added them together. They’re losing that benefit,” she said. Read the entire article here…

Among the reasons why the housing market was terrible for first-time homebuyers is tax law changes, low inventory as well as tight credits which also added to the difficulty of buying a house for entry-level buyers as well as average income earners. 2018 was true, a bad year for entry-level homebuyers.

We know for a fact that last year was not the year for first-time homebuyers, it’s time to find out if this year’s trend favors entry levels. Brenda Richardson wrote at Forbes.com about some cheat sheet for first time home buyers in today’s housing market.

A Cheat Sheet For First-Time Home Buyers In Today’s Tight Market

In today’s housing market where affordable single-family homes are difficult to come by, potential first-time buyers have been forced to make compromises in how they shop for a home and what’s on their wish list to make their homeownership dreams a reality.

The 2019 NerdWallet Home Buyer Report finds that 36% of Americans plan to buy a home in the next five years. Of them, 24% say they’ll be making the purchase within the next 12 months.

The report examines the compromises and ways first-time buyers could save money. Here are some key findings from the report based on a new online survey conducted by The Harris Poll in January.

Upping the ante. Nearly half (45%) of Americans who have purchased a home in the last five years offered more than the asking price before having their offers accepted. NerdWallet home expert Holden Lewis attributes this to stiff competition in a sellers market.

“When we looked at the people who bought homes in the last five years, people who were first timers and the people who were repeat buyers, we found that first-time home buyers made more offers before finally having one accepted,” said Lewis. “For all buyers, the average was three offers before an offer was finally accepted, and that might be for one house or they made offers for more than one. But for first timers, they made nearly four offers before having one accepted.”

First-time home buyers are likely to be younger and on a leaner budget. Those with less to spend stand to feel squeezed more.

“They might be low-balling in their first offer in a market in which that is not really the way to do it,” said Lewis. “I think a bigger part does not have that much to do with inexperience. When you’re buying an entry-level home, it’s tougher. There are more buyers, there’s more competition, and therefore, you’re going to have to make more offers on average.” Click here to read the rest of this post…

Despite being in a housing market not favoring entry-level home buyers, they can still find their way in this tight market. Experts also found out that first-time homebuyers made more offers before finally having one accepted. Also, they are likely to be much younger and have a tighter budget.

First-time homebuyers still have the option to own a house despite their lean budget. Some are selling their house fast and at a discount for various reasons. If you are one of those who see this as an opportunity to earn money by selling your property, Dependable Homebuyers can help you find the right buyer for your property.

There are a lot of first-time homebuyers in the market, and we can find the right buyer for you. To get started, visit https://www.dependablehomebuyers.com/sell-your-house/ and we look forward to hearing from you.

Know The Best and Worst Season To Sell Your House Fast

Daniel Bortz  of Realtor.com wrote an interesting article which ennumerates the important factors to consider in knowing the best time to sell your house. Continue reading on the article below to know these factors.

When Is the Best Time to Sell Your House? 5 Factors to Consider

When is the best time to sell your house? Timing can make a big difference in terms of selling your home quickly and for the most cash. But here’s the thing: The rules on pinpointing that best time might not be what you think.

The assumption that spring is always the best time to sell is not necessarily true. The general direction of your local economy and mortgage interest rates come into play as well.

There’s no crystal ball for reading the housing market, but there are ways to stack the deck in your favor. Here are five things to consider before putting your house on the market.

1. Spring isn’t always the best season to sell your house

Though conventional wisdom maintains that the spring home-buying season (April to June) is the best time to sell, that’s not always the case. In fact, one recent study even found that sellers typically net more above asking price during the months of December, January, February, and March than they do from June through November. Surprised?

One reason may be that the spring home-buying season generally means you’ll have more competition from other home sellers—and that may require you to price your home more aggressively in order to attract buyers. (Have questions on how to price your house? Here’s how to find a real estate agent in your area.)

2. Keep an eye on the local economy

The strength of the U.S. housing market as a whole certainly plays a role in home prices. According to a realtor.com analysis of annual price growth rates, a home’s value generally increases 3% to 4% a year when the economy is strong, driven by inflation and natural population growth. From 2011 to 2016, the national housing market was recovering from the bubble at a slightly higher speed: 6.3% a year, on average.

You’ll want to assess your local economy’s conditions when figuring out when to list your home. One benchmark you can use is the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which monitors single-family home sales in 20 major U.S. cities. Another valuable resource is the Metropolitan Median Area Prices and Affordability tracker from the National Association of Realtors®. Read full article here…

Timing when to sell your property could be the very determining factor if you can make fast cash out or not in selling your house fast. However timing in real estate is not just blindly choosing and pinpointing the time you sell. There are also popular beliefs in home selling which not necessarily true all the time, such as spring season is the best season to sell house fast, etc. As a matter of fact there are a handful of competition when selling house on spring.

The need to sell it fast in a market with high competition means that you are compelled to sell it at a lower price. Keeping a close eye on the local economy is also very significant since the housing market data and trends dictate home prices, a weak economy means you need to price it lower than what you originally wanted.

Digging deeper into the topic, Dahna Chandler of The Mortgage Reports wrote an excellent article that discussed the best time of the year to sell a home. Read more below and see for yourself the best time of the year to put your home in for sale listings.

What’s the best time of year to sell a home?

Consider where you’re selling a home first

The best time of year to sell a home fast and for more money depends on where you live. While most people automatically think “spring” when selling, that’s not true in places like Phoenix, Florida, Southern California and Texas. That’s because the weather gets intense in those areas–think triple-digit heat, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

Before you consider the pros and cons of selling during each season, research the best time of year to sell a home in your region.

Spring

In most areas, the best time of year to sell a home is during the first two weeks of May. You can expect to sell 18.5 days faster than any other month and for 5.9 percent more money. In other places, early April or June is better for home sales than May. There are pros and cons to spring home selling.

Pros

• Tax refunds come in the late winter or early spring, making more funds available for repairs and renovations
• Warmer weather and longer days mean more home buyers go out searching for homes
• Curb appeal improves as trees, flowers, and grass bloom (and less muck gets tracked into your house)

Cons

• It might not be the best season to sell if your weather is still rainy, snowy or muddy
• Competition is fiercest, so if your home is imperfect, it may be a harder sell
• If you have kids, you may have to pull them out of school if your home sells quickly

Summer

Like spring, summer is a top time of year to sell. In some regions, June is tops for home closing. In fact, June 28 is the most likely day in the year to close a home, according to ATTOM Data Solutions. There are a variety of other reasons that summer is the best time of year to sell a home. But drawbacks to listing between mid-June and late August exist, too.

Pros

• More daylight hours and predictable weather in most places mean more time for home showings
• Time for you (and buyers) is more flexible with vacations and more time after work hours showing or touring houses

Cons

• Weather in some areas is very hot and not conducive to house hunting
• Competition in areas where summer is prime selling season gets higher with buyers demanding more concessions and features

Read the rest of the article here…

Apart from timing and knowing the economic conditions, location is a very important factor in making the most out of selling house fast experience. In some areas, Spring is the best season to sell a house fast, but in regions like Phoenix, Texas, and Florida, it is not always the case due to intense weather conditions experienced by these locations. Home selling in a particular season has its pros and cons depending on your location, so it important to you as a seller to make research and have some due diligence in weighing out these pros and cons.

More than the best time, it is actually a no-brainer to know the worst times of year to sell a house. Erin McDowell of Business Insider wrote an article mentioning both the best and worst times of year to sell your house.

The Best and Worst Times of Year to Sell a House

Selling a home and netting the largest profit possible can oftentimes be a game of luck.

Reports, however, have shown that certain times of the year can yield higher premiums for sellers and more money in their pockets. When it comes to selling your home, it’s important to plan things in advance so your home can hit the market at the perfect moment, and secure you the perfect price.

The best time of year to sell a home is during the summer, while kids are out of school

ATTOM Data Solutions analyzed more than 28 million single-family home and condo sales over the past eight years and determined that those who sold homes in the summer had more success selling their home quickly and for their desired price.

“Since summer is a time for vacations and outings, it’s no surprise that it’s also a time when people are most likely to move,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer with ATTOM Data Solutions.

According to the study, June and August reported the highest numbers of home sales, 2,881,400 and 2,802,268, respectively.

“Families start their home search when they know their kids will be out of school and when the weather is ideal for home viewing and moving, giving home sellers an upper hand in price negotiations.”

Homes sold in June and May turned the highest profits for sellers

The analysis found that seller premiums were highest in June (9.2%), May (7.4%), and July (7.3%). The median sales price for homes sold in June was $200,000 with an AVM of $183,124 and homes sold in May had a median sales price of $190,000 and an AVM of $176.875 — meaning that, on average, homes sold for more than what they were valued at.

Homeowners who sold their houses during October and December reported the lowest seller premiums

Those who sold their homes during colder months — namely, October and December — reported much lower seller premiums than those who sold their homes in the summer. Homes sold in October and December sold for a median price of $188,000 with an AVM of $182,000, only making a 3.3% premium for the seller.

Full article published here…

It may sound cliche, but in most cases making profits off selling house is more of a game of luck. Also according to available data, there are certain times of the year that can give you more returns. Another important finding is that selling your house in the last quarter of the year is seen to give sellers smaller returns. The key here is to plan your selling in advance, get the perfect timing based on your location, and make a thorough research of the housing market. That way, you can maximize your gains in selling your house fast.

If you need help in selling your house fast for quick cash, Dependable Homebuyers can help you make quick cash out of your home for sale. To know more, visit https://www.dependablehomebuyers.com/sell-your-house/ and we look forward to helping you sell your house fast and make quick cash.

Dependable Homebuyers
1402 Belt St, Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 266-6247
https://www.dependablehomebuyers.com/

We Buy Houses In Washington DC

Barbara Radcliffe Rogers of PlanetWare enumerates the top rated tourist destinations in Washington DC that every tourists must visit at least once for they will learn a lot from The District; its history, culture, tradition. Check out the article below to learn more.

Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Washington, D.C.

The District of Columbia, on the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia, was set aside as the nation’s capital, so that the federal government would not be located in any single state. Pierre-Charles L’Enfant was commissioned by George Washington to plan the city, and you can clearly see L’Enfant’s layout of a street grid intersected by broad avenues.

The most important of these is Pennsylvania Avenue, connecting two iconic buildings: the White House and the impressive domed Capitol Building. Alongside and maintaining L’Enfant’s vision of an open and spacious city stretches the wide National Mall with its museums and monuments.

National symbols such as the Capitol and the White House are accessible to visitors, along with dozens of other tourist attractions, which include world-class museums and important monuments. Many of the most important things to see and do are in the northwestern quadrant along the National Mall and are best seen on foot. Summer can be unpleasantly hot and humid, so the best times to visit Washington are spring and autumn.

1. United States Capitol and Capitol Hill

Recognized around the world as a symbol of the United States, the Capitol is the seat of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The huge dome, based on the dome of St. Peter’s in Rome, stands out above all other Washington buildings.

Like Washington itself, the building has grown over the years since the central portion was built between 1793 and 1812. The last addition, in 1958-62, enlarged the main façade where presidents take the oath. On the other side, a marble terrace offers beautiful views over the mall and the city.

The interior is resplendent with frescoes, reliefs, and paintings, especially the rotunda under the great cast-iron dome with a ceiling painting by Constantino Brumidi and huge paintings of scenes from American history on the walls. Beside it is the former Chamber of the House of Representatives, with statues of leading historical figures. The small Senate Rotunda leads into the beautifully restored Old Senate Chamber, where the Senate met until 1859, and the Supreme Court until 1935.

2. The White House

The White House is the official residence of the President of the United States. The home of every president except George Washington, it was originally built by James Hoban in 1792, and after being burned down by British forces in 1814 was rebuilt in 1818. Although tours of the interior that include the East, Blue, Green, and Red Rooms; the Ballroom; and the State Dining Room must be reserved well in advance through your Congressional office or embassy, every tourist to Washington will want to see this iconic building, at least from the outside.The free White House Visitor Center, a short distance away, has excellent interactive exhibits, which show details about the White House and the presidential families. It includes furniture of past presidents, a model of the residence, historical changes, and videos with insights from presidents about their time living there.

3. The Lincoln Memorial

The best-loved of all Washington’s memorials, the Lincoln Memorial stands at the far end of the mall, separated from the Washington Monument by the Reflecting Pool. At its center is a 19-foot marble statue of a seated and pensive President Abraham Lincoln surrounded by 36 columns, one for each of the states that existed at the time of Lincoln’s death. This is the most famous work designed by noted sculptor Daniel Chester French. Jules Guerin painted the murals on the inside walls, showing important events in Lincoln’s life. Find more top-rated tourist attractions here…

There are a handful of tourist attractions in Washington DC that are worth visiting due to its historical values and contributions in shaping the nation’s capital. However, it is important to remember that a lot of these attractions are subject to very tight security, so strictly following protocols is a must, especially within The White House’s perimeter.

Some tourists just want to enjoy Washington DC without spending too much. The good news is that are the a lot of things to do and places to visit in the city that are less expensive – and some of them are free. Check out this article published at Washington.org are know what are the free things to do and the best of Washington DC.

Free Things to Do: Best of Washington, DC

The list of free things to do in DC is quite long, headlined by Smithsonian museums, the National Gallery of Art, the monuments and memorials and annual events and festivals. We’ve detailed some of the most popular activities here, so on your next family trip to DC, make sure you cross all of these off of your bucket list!

And if you’re looking for even more budget-friendly fun, you can save big on popular paid attractions with Washington, DC’s best city and attraction passes. Discover discounted sightseeing tours, museum passes and so much more.

1 Explore the National Mall

Touring the National Mall should top your list of must-do’s when you visit the District. Free monuments, memorials and museums are all around, including the famous Lincoln and Jefferson memorials and the popular National Museum of African American History and Culture.

 

2 Visit the White House

Touring the public rooms of the U.S. President’s home is another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that can only be savored in DC. The experience is free of charge, but you will need to contact your congressional representative well in advance of your trip in order to schedule a visit. For more information, check out our guide.

 

3 Take in the Smithsonian museums

These are America’s museums, so there is no charge to visit them! All Smithsonian museums have interactive components and unparalleled collections of artifacts. The hard part is choosing which ones to visit. Visitors often flock to the National Air and Space Museum for its journeys into space and the National Museum of American History for its in-depth look at our nation’s past. Also, be sure to check out the recently renovated Freer | Sackler Galleries, which are dedicated to Asian art.

 

4 Tour DC’s premier cultural arts center

Take a free tour of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Guided tours depart every ten minutes, and docents discuss its artwork, 50-foot Austrian chandelier, interactive exhibit on the life of President Kennedy and the panoramic view of the city from its marvelous Rooftop Terrace. Tours are available in 17 languages. There’s also a free shuttle to the Kennedy Center from the Foggy Bottom Metro stop, which leaves every 15 minutes from 9:45 a.m. – midnight Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – midnight on Saturdays and 12 p.m. – midnight on Sundays.

Browse more free things to do in Washington DC here…

Visiting Washington DC is a wonderful place to visit, with lots of amazing tourist attractions, architecture, culture and other amenities – and you can visit all of them without cashing huge amount of money. A lot of these attractions are for family and are very budget-friendly. So next time if you want to learn more about the history of United States and how it was developed, visiting Washington DC and its top tourist attractions.

By having rich historical information and values, Washington DC is a haven for tourists who want to know more about the country’s century-long political struggle, history, engineering, architecture, history and more. If you see this as an opportunity and decided to sell your house for fast cash, Dependable Homebuyers can help you sell your house fast and find the right buyer for your home. To learn more, ,visit https://www.dependablehomebuyers.com/washington-dc/ and we look forward to hearing from you.

Sell A House That Is In Foreclosure

Little do people know is that there are lots of good deals in foreclosures. However, there are a huge amount of risks from buying foreclosed homes, especially if it is your first time buying. Dori Zinn of Bankrate provided us with some very useful expert tips in buying foreclosed properties.

5 Tips For Buying a Foreclosed Home

When most people buy homes, they browse through home listings, use a realtor to find the perfect fit, and prepare their finances for a down payment and closing costs. Buying a foreclosed home is a little different.

“Buying a foreclosure is definitely a bit of a grind. It’s not easy,” says Robert Jensen, broker and president of the Rob Jensen Co. in Las Vegas. “You’re getting fantastic pricing, but sometimes it takes going through a lot of houses and writing a lot of offers to get the home you want.”

5 steps to buying a foreclosed home

Buying foreclosure homes is usually a much faster process than going through a normal home purchase. You might be doing multiple steps at once to keep up with it.

1. Find a real estate broker and lender

The goal of combing through foreclosure listings is not to find a house; it’s to find an agent. Banks usually hire real estate brokers to handle their REO properties, or “real estate owned.” This signifies that the property has been foreclosed on and the lender now owns it and is selling it.

In many cases, the buyer works directly with the bank’s broker instead of using a buyer’s agent. That way, the commission doesn’t have to be split between two brokers.

Elaine Zimmerman, a real estate investor and author, recommends that shoppers first visit any site with a database of foreclosed homes. You also could look at a local real estate website that lets you filter the results to see only foreclosures.

2. Get a preapproval letter

Unless you plan to pay cash, you’ll need a recent preapproval letter from a lender. The letter will detail how much money you can borrow, based on the lender’s assessment of your credit score and income.

“The problem is, buyers want to find the house first, and then they think they’ll work out the financing,” Jensen says. “But the problem is, the really good deals on these bank-owned, they go quick — and the buyer doesn’t necessarily have time to try to work out the financing afterward. They need to work that out first.”  Learn more here…

The most important thing before even thinking of buying a foreclosed property is to fully understand what foreclosure is and what’s the reason why the property got foreclosed. Then you can have your way and strategy how you can seal the deal of your chosen home. Much better if you hire the services of an expert agent to help you with the decision making.

You may also find foreclosed properties in various auction sites, and Andrew Syrios of Lending Home teaches us how to find and buy foreclosed homes at an auction. Check out the tips below.

How to Buy a Foreclosed Home at an Auction in 5 Steps

Buying a foreclosed home at an auction can be one of the most lucrative and popular ways of acquiring investment properties. But to make it work for you, you have to be aware of potential pitfalls and do your due diligence. With that in mind, let’s go over the auction process and five steps of buying a foreclosed home.

How the auction process works

When a homeowner falls behind on his or her mortgage payments, eventually the lender files the 1st Legal Action, which is either a recorded document, or a court filing, depending on the state and assigns an attorney or trustee to conduct a foreclosure. At any time prior to the auction, the borrower can reinstate the loan by paying the arrearages, or the overdue amount, but unless the borrower sells his/her home, it is rare for the delinquency to be rectified.

Real estate foreclosures usually take several months from the first missed payment until the home is sold on the courthouse steps. The exact time depends on state law and the bank foreclosing. After the 2008 financial crisis, when banks were inundated with foreclosures, it could take well over a year. But nowadays, it is usually closer to six months.

Step 1: Find homes being foreclosed

The first step in how to buy a foreclosed home is to find the properties being foreclosed on. You can find such foreclosed homes on websites such as RealtyTrac.com and Auction.com, but the best place to go is right to the source — the county records.

Step 2: Due diligence

There are several major pitfalls that you must be aware of when deciding to buy a foreclosed home. The first thing to know is that not all liens get wiped out in a foreclosure auction. In particular, tax liens stay with the property. My business partners and I once purchased a property with a $7,000 tax lien attached to it, and guess what? We had to pay it.

Step 3: Physical due diligence

One of the trickiest parts about buying at auction is that you cannot get into the property that is being foreclosed on. You should still drive by it though and take a good look at the exterior. Look online as it may have been listed recently and have pictures available. Generally speaking, the interior’s condition will mirror the exterior. That being said, you should be extra careful when coming up with your rehab budget.  Read the entire article here…

Knowing how to find these great deals on foreclosure would put you on a huge advantage, whether you are a home buyer or an investor. It is also crucial to check the house thoroughly to see if major repairs are needed for it might end up eating up a huge portion of your rehabilitation budget.

The only key here is that you must know how to find incredible real estate deals, and Brandon Turner gives us some quality tips in his article at Entrepreneur.com.

4 Simple Tips for Finding Incredible Real Estate Deals

Whether I plan to flip that house, hold the property as a rental or go for something entirely different: Everything begins with a great deal. Here are four simple tips you too can use to find better deals on your own real estate, whether you’re looking for an investment, a property for your business or simply a home for your family.

1. Consider buying a bank-foreclosed property.

When someone fails to pay a mortgage payment for an extended period of time, the lender will ultimately repossess the home and remove the occupants. Once the home is empty, the lender generally lists the house for sale on the market, using a local real estate to list it.

While the foreclosure, in itself, is of course sad (no one rejoices when someone loses a home), once the deed has been done, these properties can be some of the best deals you’ll find in real estate. Banks want to be in the business of lending money, not managing property, so they are often quick to offer large discounts just to get the deal off their books. Translation: You can get a great deal on foreclosed properties, if you know how to buy foreclosures right.

2. Be the first . . . or the last.

In real estate, often the old adage holds true: The early bird gets the worm.

Oftentimes, it’s not the highest offer for a property that gets accepted, it’s simply the first. Therefore, if you are looking for a great deal, be quick about it! Get a pre-approval from a bank so you can jump at any property right away, and have your real estate agent set you up with automatic email alerts notifying you of any new property that hits the market.

Then, don’t delay — check it out quickly, and make an offer the same day if possible.

3. Approach absentee owners privately.

In a hot real estate market, like the one most of the United States is experiencing today, great deals can be hard to find because of the large number of people looking for a home. In some areas, a single house for sale might get a dozen or more offers in the first several days. Learn more here…

The most important thing is that you must have a complete understanding of what are the criteria of a good deal house for you to succeed. Also in buying foreclosed properties, there are certain factors you must do due diligence such as the foreclosure reason, the house overall condition, etc. Remember that a severely damaged home incur huge rehabilitation cost on your part.

However, if you’re on the other side of the coin and you want to sell your property to avoid foreclosure since you don’t have the financial capibilities to pay your remaining balance, Dependable Homebuyers helps you in selling your house fast to avoid foreclosure. That way you still get the money you’ll need for your future plans without dealing foreclosure. To get started, visit https://www.dependablehomebuyers.com/foreclosure and we look forward to hearing from you.

Dependable Homebuyers
1402 Belt St, Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 266-6247

While people are preferring the low-risk low reward investing in real estate, some have higher risk tolerance and go for high-risk investment such as house flipping. Some don’t have that much of knowledge in real estate but have made a fortune out of their investments in properties and real estate.

How To Become Become Successful in Real Estate Investing

As to how they have done it, we will not discuss it here, but the expert investors in real estate gave us the most important things to do before even thinking of investing in real estate. There are lots of experts who are helping beginning investors to duplicate their success with their investments and not to solely rely on luck. Under30Wealth wrote the most important things to do before getting involved in real estate investing. Check out their very informative article below.

7 Things to Know Before Investing in Real Estate

This will seem like a lop sided article because we’ve only listed 2 benefits of real estate investing below while listing 5 disadvantages. I want to reassure you that real estate is an excellent investment and there are actually many other benefits and reasons to invest including these 20 reasons in this article here that you can read.

In this article we are covering two additional major reasons why investing in real estate is a smart long term decision as well as showing you the negatives so that you are aware of what to watch out for also. Let’s get started!

2 Important Benefits of Investing in Real Estate

Reason #1: Portfolio Diversification

Real estate adds diversification to an investor’s portfolio so that they are not only invested in stocks, mutual funds, and bonds. Diversification spreads out risk and allows investors the chance to maximize returns when the different assets go through growth stages. When real estate is hot, the investors’ real estate investments will give a higher return to the investor than the other investment holdings, bringing up the value of the entire portfolio.

You can diversify to own real estate in two ways, but I’ll explain which is the best in a second. The first way and most simple way is buying the stock of Real Estate Investment Trust companies also known as REIT’s. If you visit your financial adviser and tell them you’d like to stick a portion of your investment funds into real estate, then this will likely be what he suggests.

Reason #2: Financial Leverage

Real estate investors are attracted to real estate because it allows them to use financial leverage to their property. Financial leverage, in simple terms, is the use of other people’s money and not using your own. You are “leveraging” someone else’s capital.

The finance industry makes debt capital readily available to most investors if you have a good credit score and prove you don’t need the money by showing them a healthy net worth and steady income. Lenders will typically be willing to provide up to 70% of the value of the home.

Leverage allows an investor to control more real estate using other people’s money than they could otherwise with just their own money. Leverage magnifies returns but can also magnify losses if things don’t go well for the investor. See full post here…

In an ideal situation, before starting to invest in real estate, you should have already diversified your portfolio. That means you are already exposed to other investment instruments such as bonds, stocks, mutual funds, among others.

By diversifying your investment, there’s only little chance for you to lose a huge amount of money when one of your investments suffers a loss. Also, having financial leverage could be beneficial for you as you begin investing in properties. Having financial leverage will allow you to borrow money from lending institutions such as banks to be used in your journey towards real estate investing. This leverage allows you to control more real estate investments using other people’s money.

Engelo Rumora of BiggerPockets also gives us some excellent tips every person must do before becoming an investor in real estate. It was a long, but very informative tips, so check them out below.

Do This BEFORE You Start Investing in Real Estate

I’ve said this so many times before: your network equals your net worth. Please never forget that!

Over the last five-plus years, I’ve spoken to many investors from all over the world. They ask me the same thing: “What do you think of this area? What do you think of this market? What do you think of this city?”

They’re all consumed with the online stats and demographics that they can see via a basic Google search. Put simply, I think that’s a bad way to approach investing in real estate.

Why You Need to Set Up a Real Estate Team BEFORE You Begin Investing

I have a saying that goes, “If you buy the best house on the best street in the best area that has the best capital growth projections, but your property manager is incompetent or a cheat, you’re going to lose money because they’re going to steal your rent or lose your rent because they are so incompetent.”

Therefore, it really doesn’t matter how good that market is, how much potential that area has for growth, or how good the deal is. If your contractors suck, they’re going to go over budget and you’re going to lose money anyway. This is why it’s very important that you first establish the right team before you start your real estate endeavors. Click here to read the rest of this post…

Therefore, it doesn’t matter how good that market is, how much potential that area has for growth, or how good the deal is. If your contractors suck, they’re going to go over budget and you’re going to lose money anyway. This is why it’s very important that you first establish the right team before you start your real estate endeavors.

Considering this your first time exposing yourself in real estate investing, it wouldn’t hurt at all to seek help from real estate experts. If possible, it is also recommended to establish your reliable team before you start investing. However, there are pros and cons in forming a team of real estate experts to help you as an investor, it is important to read both the pros and cons before considering this advice. Consider these very informative tips by DC Fawcett as your real estate investing guide.

Eight Things You Need To Know Before Buying Your First Investment Property

Although there are numerous examples of people who have earned themselves a fortune with real estate investment, real estate, like every other business, has many risks associated with it. Moreover, regardless of the type of property you are purchasing or whether you plan to rent or resell it afterward, investing in real estate requires a good amount of cash — which makes it critical to take extra measures to ensure profit on your investment or at least save yourself from a huge loss.

I’ve observed a shortage of property in good areas over the past few months. This lack of property creates an excellent opportunity for investment. However, it doesn’t mean that anybody can earn a fortunate by investing in real estate. You need to know a lot of things before buying your first investment property.

1. Don’t let your emotions play with you.

Most of the time when buying a home, people listen to their heart more than actually thinking about it logically, which is perfectly fine when it is the place where you will be living for many years of your life. But don’t let your emotions affect your decision when buying your first investment property. Think of it as purely a business investment and logically negotiate to get the best possible price.

Remember, the lower the price you get for a property, the better the odds that you will earn a higher profit from it.

2. Do your research.

Depending on the clients you are targeting, you need to do proper research before buying your first investment property. Make sure that the property is situated in a location that will attract the type of clients you hope to sell or rent to, that it will reach to the returns you are expecting and that it will appeal to the market.

3. Secure a down payment.

Unlike the 3% down payment on the house you are currently living in, you are going to require at least 20% down payment for buying your first investment property. This is because mortgage insurance is not applicable for investment properties. Moreover, investment properties require greater down payments than your regular building and have strict approval requirements. Keep in mind the expenses needed for the renovation before you pay your down payment.

Learn more here…

Before investing your hard-earned money into real estate, there are certain things you must do in preparation, especially preparing your emotions from the risk associated with it. Aside from checking your emotions, a good amount of cash is also needed.

Real estate investing is a profitable investment, but with huge amount of risk as well if you’re not doing it right and you did not do enough preparations before starting. Follow the tips above and you’ll become successful real estate investor. 

However, if  you want to sell your property rental business for reasons like having no time to manage the property, problems with tenant payment among others, Dependable Homebuyers can help you sell your property rental and take a break from being a landlord. To learn more, visit https://www.dependablehomebuyers.com/tenants/ and we look forward to hearing from you.

Dependable Homebuyers
1402 Belt St, Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 266-6247

We Buy Houses In Nashville, TN

To get started, check out the article written by Cherish Lombard, which mentions the rising rent prices in Nashville due to an increasing number of people moving into Nashville primarily for work opportunities. Read the article below to know more.

Rent prices continue to rise in Nashville

Rent prices continue to rise in Nashville and as more people move here, they’re looking for a place to live, which is driving up rent.

The average apartment rent over the past 6 months in Nashville has increased by $54.

The newest data from Rent Jungle shows that as of December 2018, the average rent for an apartment in Nashville, TN is $1399. That’s a 2.72% increase from the same time last year when the average rent was $1361. It’s a 0.71% increase from last month when the average rent was $1389.

One-bedroom apartments in Nashville rent for $1257 a month on average. That’s 3.42% more than renters were paying last year. If you’re looking for a two-bedroom apartment, you’re going to pay about 4.95% more this year than you would have paid last year. Rents now average $1536.

Right now, you’ll find the highest rent prices in Green Hills, and some of the lowest in Salemtown, just west of the Cumberland near Germantown.

In 2011, you could rent a one-bedroom apartment in Nashville for $691 and a two bedroom for $825. See the full rental price data here…

The rising number of people moving into Nashville has driven the home prices to increase over the past months. These people are typically moving into the city for job opportunities – and they need a place to live. As more and more people in need of these spaces as Nashville’s employment opportunities continue to rise regardless of real estate market conditions.

Another interesting data about the property rentals in Nashville is the fact that renting a place is cheaper than buying a home in Nashville. Specifically, three-bedroom apartment rentals cost cheaper than buying an averaged-priced single-family home. Check out this article written by Sandy Mazza published at Tennessean.

Surprise! It’s Cheaper to Rent than Buy a Home in Nashville Right Now

In a twist of market dynamics, the cost of renting a three-bedroom apartment is currently cheaper than owning an average-priced single-family home in Nashville.This is also true for big cities across the country, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, according to real-estate analysis firm ATTOM Data Solutions.

“This is just looking purely at if you wanted to purchase a home at this moment,” said Jennifer von Pohlmann, spokeswoman for ATTOM. “Of course, (with home ownership) you’ll also have home equity and will get that back at some point, hopefully. But, because of rising mortgage rates and appreciating home prices, it’s more feasible to rent than to buy.”

Wage increases lag behind housing costs

In less surprising news, neither home mortgages or apartment rents are affordable – or less than 30 percent of average wages.

Davidson County wages increased just 2.7 percent in 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average weekly wage was $1,081 in 2018.

Meanwhile, home prices went up 9.7 percent and apartment rents jumped 9.9 percent.

Current average rents eat up 33.1 percent of paychecks while mortgage costs take 38.4 percent, according to the analysis. Read more here…

Actually this trend does not only occur in Nashville, but also for other big cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston. Also according to ATTOM, because of the ongoing rise in mortgage rates as well as increase in home prices, it is actually more feasible to rent than buying a property. This latest real estate market trend favors those who are moving in to Nashville and looking to rent for an apartment. Rent prices in some areas is actually less than 30% of the city’s average salary.

This favorable conditions in property rental segment drives competition among those who manages short-term as well as long term rentals. The biggest question is that how will it affect the Nashville market. Check out this article written by Erica Francis at wkrn.com. Check out the article below and learn how this wold affect Nashville in the next months.

Competition grows among short-term-rental brands, Will it impact our market here in Nashville?

Short-term-rentals have become a popular alternative to hotels, with Airbnb being the most popular– but there are alternatives, such as VRBO and HomeAway.

Recently, a major hotel chain, Marriott International, is checking into the short-term-rental market with their Homes and Villas program.

News 2 wondered… could this impact the Airbnbs already operating in Nashville?

The answer– is likely no, that’s according to Chris Muscatello who is well-versed in how Airbnb operates. In fact, he owns a property on 11th Avenue South that he lists on Airbnb.

“The great thing about this [short-term-rentals] opposed to hotels is the income being generated from out of town guests it’s going into local homeowners pockets which, is in turn, going into the local economy,” Muscatello said.

Marriott works with professional management companies for their inventory, hand curating a list of rentals offering more than 5,000 homes in 190 locations, including Nashville, some, near Muscatello’s property.

“I think it’s going to have a minimal impact,” Muscatello said.

One of the biggest differences between Airbnb and Homes and Villas is that 90% of renters on Homes and Villas are members of the hotel’s travel program, Marriot Bonvoy, meaning they can earn points when renting through Homes and Villas. Read more here…

Property rental owners benefited from the increasing demand of rental spaces due to people moving in to Nashville as it offers more job opportunities.  Plus the latest trend showing that it is much cheaper to rent a house than to purchase one, Nashville right now clearly favors the landlords. As long as Nashville provides employment opportunities as well as a progressive economy in the coming months which drives more renters to the city, landlords as well as investing in property rentals can give good return on investment.

If you want to sell your house in Nashville, raise a capital and start your own property rental business in times where the demand is high, Dependable Homebuyers can help you sell your house fast and get the cash you needed in buying a property. To get started, visit https://www.dependablehomebuyers.com/tennessee/ and we look forward to hearing from you.

Dependable Homebuyers
1402 Belt St, Baltimore, MD 21230
(443) 266-6247