Real Estate Investing

Pre-fabricated housing was once relegated to government projects and low-income neighborhoods. Now, a new day has dawned. When housing is built off-site and trucked in, it can make for a much more affordable housing option. But it doesn’t have to be small, rickety or ugly. Prefab has spread its wings and landed in some of the most chic, lux neighborhoods imaginable.

Bonus: It’s usually lower cost. The Washington Post wrote about Barry Bless and Jennifer Watson, who built a two-bedroom, one-bath, 1,150-square-foot mountain abode for $95,000. That’s about $83 per square foot. This is an ultra-modern home, with an open floor plan, hardwood flooring and floor-to-ceiling windows. Additional work needed on the home, like site prep and water/sewer hookup, was handled by the couple and their friends, which the article points out as an obvious cost-cutter.

“But Barry Bless and Jennifer Watson figure that even if contractors had done most of the work, their 1,150-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bath mountain retreat would have come in at around $150,000. That works out to $130 a square foot, compared with the $200-to-$400-per-square-foot costs of many modern, architect-designed houses.”

Prefab housing has plenty of options. With full-length porches, decks, garages, fireplaces, basements, stone and brick exterior, these houses are virtually indistinguishable from their more traditional counterparts. However, prefab is really making a name for itself in modern housing design, something which would normally require elite architects and seemingly endless pockets. The boxy, airy, lofty looks are more popular around the U.S. and have also caught on in other countries like Sweden, where partnerships have been formed with Ikea modern furniture manufacturer.

OpenHouse NYC blog offers a video tour of a fabulous prefab home and interviews with real estate experts. Marcia Altman, a realtor in West Hampton, tells the blog that the only remaining stigma attached to prefab, or modular, housing is among “the uninformed.” Essentially, she says, this option helps home buyers get “a little more house for a little less money.” The prefab housing option may increase in cost as demand and respect grows, particularly when the limping housing market recovers and home prices soar once again. For homebuyers on a budget, it’s an option worth digging into.

The Euro is worth very near to one and a half times the U.S. dollar. As a result, there is much speculation that Europeans will begin buying property in America. In fact, an Associated Press article quotes Dan Green of TheMortgageReports.com as saying that inquiries he’s received from overseas has grown by about five to 10 times the size it was a year ago.

A homebuyer today would need only 34,100 Euros to make a $50,000 payment toward a home. A buyer based in England would need only about 23,900 GBP to make the same $50,000 payment. Sad, isn’t it?

New York, Chicago, California and Florida are the areas expected to see the greatest influx of foreign real estate investors. And investments are exactly how foreigners are viewing this, according to the article - although undoubtedly some are also viewing it as an affordable way to score a great vacation home. If more homebuyers enter the market, it is expected to “set a floor” for the real estate market and help the market eventually stabilize, the article stated. Here’s hoping!

This is a great time to be a landlord. There is so much doom and gloom about the subprime mortgage fallout (although lenders are doing what they can to survive) that we shall focus on the positive today. The good news is that landlords are quite fat and happy right now. As foreclosures abound and mortgage lenders circle the wagons, the rental market has surged.

Yes, in most markets, it’s a great time to own rental property — but that doesn’t mean you should run out and buy some cheap property on the shadier fringes of downtown just for the heck of it. Thanks to author Lisa Moren Bromma for taking the time in yesterday’s post to highlight just how much work is involved in landlording.

However, Lisa also had some great tips for how to do it right, for those who have the time and can find the money. She mentioned open houses as a fast-track to finding good renters willing to pay top dollar.

One of the top complaints of landlords has historically been the trouble they must endure with bad-credit renters. Granted, many of those entering the rental market have been foreclosed upon, meaning their credit is tarnished. However, at least landlords have a lot more demand for their product and a plethora of people from which to choose.

Of course, with more demand comes less supply and that means higher prices. Las Vegas is seeing it, where rental rates have gone up nearly $100 since January. Manhattan is seeing it, where second quarter reports showed rental rates nearly nine percent higher than a year earlier.

Congratulations, landlords. Brother, can you spare a dime? If you’ve got the property, hold on to it. Forget flipping. Now more than ever before, love the one you’re with.