Archive for April, 2010

Helpful Moving Tips And Checklist

Relocating can be a stressful time in a person’s life. To minimize the chaos here are some helpful moving tips and checklist to keep the move transition running smoothly.

A basic thing to keep in mind when moving is to notify everyone. Send out a moving announcement to all friends and family. Avoid the impulse to skip the bill providers. Utility companies credit cards and the cable or satellite provider must be on the list to receive the info about the new address.

File a change of address form with the post office. This step is reasonably simple but will make the transition easier. If a contact has not received the new address the mail will still get to the right place. Brightly colored stickers on the mail will indicate who still needs to be notified of the new address.

A change of address can
Bring with it changes to insurance or legal matters. Contact a lawyer if legal matters may be involved. A new address may also alter rates for homeowners auto and renters’ insurance.

Don’t forget to notify the bank and credit card companies. It is important to protect personal information and such companies will want to know the new address to avoid any information getting into the wrong hands.

Here is a quick checklist to work as a reminder:

* Notify everyone of new address friends family bills etc.
* Change of address form at the Post Office
* Contact lawyer and insurance company about necessary changes
* Notify the bank and credit card companies
* Schedule the turning off of the utilities at your old home
* Make sure that the utilities will be turned on at your new home before moving day

Helpful moving tips mostly involve the packing process. The packing and unpacking of household and personal goods may be the most strenuous part about moving. A quick tip is to toss out items that are not necessary. If the item has not been used in a year donate it to someone who can benefit. There is no need in packing hauling and unpacking an item that is no longer useful.

Most people don’t think about packing the food items in the kitchen. If finances allow try to dwindle the canned goods boxed foods and cold items before the moving day. This will reduce the hassle of transporting goods in a cooler or throwing out the food altogether.

Most people don’t think about the effects of packing up the kitchen will have. By the second to last week before the move you should be eating off of disposable plates plastic forks and knives. This is necessary so that you can pack up all of your utensils dish ware and yes cookware.

Label each and every box bag or container for easy identification. It is easy to assume that the red box will be readily identifiable but over the miles the memory gets tired. On each box include the name of the person whose contents are inside the appropriate room where the contents should go and two or three key items in the box. This step will not only jog the memory but keep the unpacking process flowing smoothly and efficiently.

Boxes that will be needed immediately on arrival should be clearly marked in some way. Simply place a star for example next to the other information. This moving tip is great to locate a couple of pots and pans to cook dinner or necessary toiletry items.

A few helpful moving tips and a checklist will keep the chaos to a minimum and have things moving smoothly.

robert at cheapmovingonline.com

About the writer:  Written on behalf of Melissa O’Connell. Melissa is familiar with all types of properties in the Scottsdale Arizona Real Estate area and has worked for 15 years as a Scottsdale real estate consultant.

Harnessing The Power Of Real Estate To Achieve The American Dream

In New York the Wall Street superfirms are struggling for survival. Many have called 1800BAILOUT to keep from going the way of the 8track tape and the cuckoo bird.

In Detroit the automotive industry is on life support and hoping for mouthtomouth resuscitation from everybodys favorite Uncle or Big Brother depending on their perspective.

Elsewhere from Main Street to some of the lesserknown boardrooms across this great land Americans from all backgrounds and political persuasions have one thing in common: theyre all circling their collective wagons convinced that life as we know it has either come to an end or soon will.

So where do you fit in?

Are you inclined to join the crowd or are you willing to harness a onceinalifetime opportunity and hitch your wagon to real estate and grab your piece of the American Dream?

Its really no secret that people everywhere are fearful for the future. Theyve watched their lifes savings evaporate in a few months time seen some of the biggest financial giants in the world topple like dominos and in some cases have learned firsthand what its like to be handed a pink slip.

With all this bad news one of the soundest pieces of advice known to man has been relegated to junk bond status by almost everyone. As a result most people have little hope for the future.

You have a chance to be different

Now is a very special opportunity for you to secure a future free from financial worry. When everyone else is cashing in their chips and going home savvy investors are taking some initiative and buying all the real estate they can get their hands on while prices are low.

Its true that real estate prices have hit distressing lows and billions of dollars of equity has disappeared from the real estate market. Thats all the more reason to buy real estate now before prices shoot back up.

Economics 101 tells us that the Law of Supply and Demand dictates that the best time to buy something is when nobody else wants it. The fact is right now nobody wants real estate. That means demand is low. Which means that prices are even better.

Nobody ever got rich overnight by buying an asset that is expensive and in demand. The best time to buy real estate is now while prices are low. Theres no competition and many of these properties can be purchased for as little as 40 or 50 cents on the dollar.

I know that the average person would rather shoot themselves in the foot than buy something that may or may not go up in value. Before you take aim on your big toe think about this: real estate values will go back up. When they do equity will appear out of nowhere and millionaires will be made.

You can be one of those millionaires.

During the Great Depression millionaires were created when people with a little bit of money or credit bought as many lowpriced investments as they could reasonably get their hands on with the firm belief that times would eventually get much better. When that happened they would become overnight millionaires or multimillionaires.

Conventional wisdom says that you run from danger whenever possible. But these arent conventional times. Now is the time to scoop up as many bargain properties as you can. You can guarantee a winning transaction by making sure youll have positive cash flow.

Instant equity will be yours with a few signatures when you buy properties in this fashion. Then youll have the added bonus of monthly ongoing cash flow. Ultimately property values will skyrocket. When they do your net worth will grow with meteoric speed.

Youll become an almost overnight success story.

All because you had the nerve to defy the flawed logic of the rest of the crowd.

Now is the time for you to harness your future. The wealthiest people in the world cant all be wrong. Theyre buying as much real estate as they can.

Shouldnt you be doing the same?

How big is your American Dream?

How many horses will you need to pull your wagon?

Now is the time for you to break camp and get started.

Isnt life wonderful?

About the writer:  Charrissa Cawley founder of REI Conferences began her career in the pharmaceutical arena of corporate America in 1995 and switched to real estate when she discovered she could make more money in less time than she ever could working 10 hour days for someone else. On my way to earning thousands of dollars on every transaction I did I discovered the key to making money the smarter waythrough Real Estate Investing!” Cawley offers accurate and proven real estate strategies to investors of all different levels. With seminars mentoring programs real estate sales her own products and a book coming to stores soon she specializes in educating her clients on creating wealth through “Unconventional Real Estate Investing”. Within a year of beginning her real estate investing career Cawley went from living paycheck to paycheck to being worth over 2 million dollars and hasnt turned back since. To learn more visit www.reiconferences.com

Hard Money In A Changing Economy

As many of you know there has been a major shift in the sub prime mortgage market. In the boom years of the turn of the century the mortgage market was inundated with exotic sub prime money for borrowers. Never has the mortgage community been so borrower friendly to people with low FICO scores undocumented income and no employment verification. Many in the mortgage business have called this type of loan a “liars loan”. Consequently thousands of sub prime borrowers from coast to coast took advantage of the opportunity to get their piece of the American dream….home ownership.

For many this turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to finally own their own home. Except for one small detail…the adjustable rate mortgage. Little did the borrower know that the initial interest rate was only a teaser to last a short period of time. To the dismay of many borrowers the mortgage interest rate began to adjust and the “affordable” initial monthly payment began to rise significantly. In no time we began to see notice of defaults rise and foreclosure rates hit 20 year all time highs.

To make matters worst the same mortgage companies that were eager to lend mortgage money to this class of borrower has now said “no more for you”. The mortgage companies are not able to sell the paper to the investors. Wall Street has very little appetite for a portfolio of mortgages in foreclosure.

I believe we are at the beginning of what I refer to as “mortgage meltdown” that may have consequences for many years to come. Having said that where is the silver lining?

The answer is simple there is no silver lining. However there are several opportunities that borrowers can choose from. The most common approach is obtainng a hard money loan. A hard money loan is not intended to fix a long term problem but to offer a short term solution. Most hard money lenders loan on the value of the property taking in consideration the LTV ratio. Simply put the hard money lender generally loans up to 70 to 75 LTV. The hard money loan gives the borrower options. Rather than lose the property to foreclosure the borrower has gained a valuable commodity…time. Time gives the borrower the ability to sell refinance or rent the property without the impending event of foreclosure hanging over their head.

Yes hard money is more expensive than a conforming mortgage rate. The coupon rate for a hard money first trust deed is in excess of 10 in most cases. In addition hard money HELOC’s or a hard money second mortgage is considerably higher yet. Considering the options hard money or private money can be a very useful product in many cases.

The key to selling a hard money loan is being able to assist in determining an exit plan and working with the borrower to fully execute the plan.

This type of professional approach will not only help the borrower but may result in a subsequent loan for your pipeline.

Obviously there is a tremendous opportunity for mortgage brokers to earn a great deal of income in this emerging market.

Remember you are dealing with people’s lives and the homes that their childern live in. Have empathy and treat them fairly.

About the writer:  Antonio Redford is a legal expert. He gives advice to clients who are looking for expert counsel on reverse mortgage. For more queries about Reverse mortgagesTexas reverse mortgage visit on www.reversemortgageseniors.com