Real Estate Investing

One lucky buyer in Florida describes how lucky he was to find a buyer for his house, 

At least I managed to attract a buyer for my house, someone who was willing to crush my spirit, flatten my soul and drag the remnants of my battered hopes and dreams through a heaping mound of irate fire ants before forking over what I considered a rather paltry sum for my family’s beloved hearth and home. 

Daryl Lease,  columnist and editorial writer for the Virginian-Pilot, had me laughing my head off as he described Realtors who seem perpetually lost (that’s why I now have a Tom-Tom), mortgage processors who want their mother’s sister’s nephew’s wife’s maiden name (or words to that affect), and the paltry sum of money he received when he did sell.  Yes he threw in some politics but no matter the party you’re supporting, read past it for the rest of his account about buying real estate.  It’s worth it!

In Michigan, the medical field is helping to keep real estate going through constant expansion and improvements.

“Due to the nature of the medical supply industry, we’re not as affected by the economy,” Bieker said. A medical supply distributor, MarketLab has seen a compounded annual growth rate of 50 percent year to year since the company’s founding in 1998. The company has recently completed its second expansion in three years.

Yet two states to the west, Minnesota’s banks are feeling the squeeze from commercial loans.

While soured home mortgages have gotten much of the public attention in the last several months, LaPierre and Otto told bankers that their focus these days is on faulty commercial loans — including debts tied to multifamily residential projects.They said that regulators are finding an industry more heavily involved in commercial real estate than ever, just as an economic slump has undermined the value of all manner of brick-and-mortar projects.

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn would love Russian Architect Vladimir Plotkin who designed a floating home.  The raft has room for a bed, a bath, and the walls separate for socializing and barbequing.  What a great, lazy way to spend your summer!

Some of the housing markets hardest hit by the foreclosure epidemic are seeing small signs of new life, thanks to eager bargain hunters seeking to capitalize on a golden opportunity. Home buyers in Detroit, Las Vegas, and Chicago are saving 30% to 50% by buying foreclosures, according to USA Today.

The article tells the story of Ruth Ahlbrand, a Las Vegas realtor who capitalized on her city’s tremendous foreclosure rate. Ahlbrand trained her agents in foreclosure deals, transformed her marketing campaign and even purchased a 40-seat bus to escort deal seekers around the city. Not only will bus tour participants see actual foreclosures available on the market, they will have the added bonus of hearing an agent on a loudspeaker lecture them on the ins and outs of buying foreclosures.

“It’s like a seminar on wheels,” Ahlbrand told USA Today. “Buyers are saving up to 30% or 50%. People are really looking for a deal. I’d almost call it a frenzy. We’ve hit the bottom, and Las Vegas is growing.”

Leading the pack in terms of reduced housing costs are Las Vegas and Miami with more than 19% reduction, Phoenix with around 18% reduction, Los Angeles and San Diego with more than 16% reduction and Tampa and Detroit with over 15% reduction. If ever you’ve thought of owning a home, now’s the time. Just don’t be afraid to wait out the seller or even pitch a low-ball offer. Amber Gilmore, one home buyer mentioned in USA Today, played the waiting game and earned a reward of $100,000 off her foreclosure purchase. While many buyers are still tentative about dipping their foot in the real estate waters, content to wait out the deals, it’s good to see that the really hard-hit cities could start seeing a turnaround soon.