December 2006

1031 Exchanges...A Money Saving Strategy

Sunday, December 31st, 2006 at 10:19am. 115 Views, 0 Comments.

Properly done, a 1031 Exchange can be a great strategy with regard to saving money and deferring any capital gains tax. One must remember that we are talking about deferring and not eliminating the tax, but with planning and forethought, it does make for a great tool in in your real estate investing arsenal.

Basically, although a bit gray in the way it works, a 1031 Exchange (Section 1031 in the IRS Code) allows taxpayers who are selling a property held for business or investment purposes to completely defer any capital gains from the sale, so long as all the equity (gains) from the sale are used to purchase a like-kind property. Failing to use all the gain to purchase a property of equal value or higher than the one sold, will be subject to standard…

IF YOU ARE A BUYER AND OUT OF THIS MARKET, YOU'LL HATE YOURSELF LATER!

Thursday, December 28th, 2006 at 6:18am. 70 Views, 0 Comments.

With inventory at record levels in every area of the real estate market in greater Naples, buyers remain squarely in the driver’s seat and have the potential to pick up some good bargains at an excellent price point. One area that I find particularly interesting and think has huge potential for finding a real bargain is the new construction arena.

It wasn’t long ago that new construction home builders were employing a lottery system, because they had an enormous amount of people interested in purchasing their products and too little inventory. Many of these people were investors or , with many realtors among them. Their main interest was to close on the properties and immediately ‘flip’ them for large profits, with never any intention of owning the…

LACKING A 20% DOWNPAYMENT? THERE'S HELP

Wednesday, December 27th, 2006 at 4:23pm. 63 Views, 0 Comments.

People who have been cash-strapped and yet are eager to purchase a home, often have turned to loans referred to as ‘piggyback loans’. With the rise in the short-term interest rates, it doesn’t make sense and those loans are certainly much less appealing. Many borrowers are turning back to the private mortgage arena as an alternative. With the new federal legislation allowing insurance premiums to become tax deducible, this gives borrowers even more incentive. That legislation is in addition to the deductions that homeowners can already take regarding mortgage interest they pay..

Interest rates will determine whether a piggyback loan or mortgage insurance will make the most sense. With low rates, the piggyback loan makes more sense, while, on the other…

Christmas Wish

Sunday, December 24th, 2006 at 2:19pm. 67 Views, 0 Comments.

May the spirit of the Holiday Season fill your heart.

I and my family wish you the very best and hope that the New Year brings you much joy, happiness, health and prosperity.

And to all a good night!

STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE

Saturday, December 23rd, 2006 at 1:51pm. 63 Views, 0 Comments.

There is so much happening, and at warp speed, in the technology arena, that it is totally mind boggling. A great deal of the new technology can and should be applied to the real estate industry. For me, staying ahead of the curve with respect to technology and my real estate career is one of my biggest challenges, and actually although a pain at times, I truly love it. I told someone recently that I wished that I was going to live for another 100 years, so that I could see and participate in what was to come.

One of the areas that I have struggled with is Database Management. Over the years, I have worked with just about everything, Outlook, Act, Top Producer as well as an array of others. After much experimenting and work, I finally have found what I…

I Must Be Scrooge in Naples!!!

Friday, December 22nd, 2006 at 11:28am. 71 Views, 0 Comments.

It is Friday, the day before Christmas Eve day, and I’m trying to get some real estate work done, but it seems that no one else is working.Try as I might making phone calls, going to the office, networking with people, they just aren’t there. No one is returning phone calls…they all seem to have just shut down getting ready to celebrate Christmas. Gosh…and here I am trying to put together a last minute real estate deal…anything. I guess that I totally don’t get it. It’s kind of like my philosophy about the stores putting up Christmas ornaments and trees prior to Thanksgiving. In my day, (now I’m sounding like my parents,) we never saw Christmas trees for sale or decorations in the stores until well after Thanksgiving. It seems that we had to fully digest…

Panama...A Fabulous Investing Opportunity

Thursday, December 21st, 2006 at 4:41pm. 76 Views, 0 Comments.

I recently returned from an exploratory trip to Panama, where I spent a full week investigating why the country of Panama was absolutely on fire with people from all over Europe and the United States buying property. In that short amount of time, I learned a great deal about the country and its people, as well as the reasons that make this literally the ‘hottest’ country on earth for investing. Panama is currently experiencing a steady stream of Americans who are retiring and living full time there. The reasons are many, not the least of which is the very low cost of living. Here are some of the other reasons that makes Panama an attractive investment:

• Panama is fast becoming one of the world's top retirement destinations and also a world class tourist…

Single Family Homes In Key Naples Areas

Thursday, December 21st, 2006 at 11:09am. 72 Views, 0 Comments.

It is very interesting to see that there are 10 single homes in Olde Naples under $1,000,000, something that we haven’t seen during the last 5 years. There are currently 102 single family homes actively on the market. The low is at $750,000, with a high at $11,960,000 and the average at $2,630,446. The price per square foot is $942, which has been above $1,000 for a while, with the average days on market is 207.

By contrast, if you look at the Crayton Road area, which would encompass Coquina Sands, the Moorings and Park Shore, there are 184 active single family home listings. In that area, the low is $650,000, the high is $8,900,000, with an average of $2,096,206. The average price per square foot is $668, while the days on market is 182.

And finally in…

FORECLOSURES...A BUYING STRATEGY?

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006 at 4:16pm. 93 Views, 0 Comments.

One interesting strategy for investing in a down real estate market is looking at the foreclosure market. I know that for some, it can be a bit disconcerting because of the fact that you are dealing with people who are in a tough financial position. But the reality is that you really aren’t dealing with them at all, you are in fact dealing with their banking or financial source and not the individuals.

After struggling for a bit with the philosophy of providing information on foreclosures, I decided to put up a direct link to foreclosed properties and potential foreclosures in all areas of the country on PreviewNaples.Com. Here you will be able to click on any state in the country, then click on a specific city or area. Prior to viewing the properties,…

Home Inspections for Sellers

Sunday, December 17th, 2006 at 5:49am. 88 Views, 0 Comments.

According to the National Association of Realtors, 17% of the home sellers in 2006 were single women. Many of these sellers acquired their homes through divorce proceedings, and when they decide to sell, have little idea of the home’s true over–all condition, since much of the maintenance had been left up to their former spouse. For these and other home sellers, it can often be prudent to get an opinion from a certified home inspector prior to putting the home on the market, for a variety of reasons. Interestingly most home inspectors will tell you that less than 5% of the inspections that they do are inspections representing the seller.

Because the buyer is often in the driver’s seat with regard to repairs and repair costs from defects found by the…