Archive for January, 2010
Key Real Estate Investment Information Packs Facing Legal Challenge
A key policy that was once the cornerstone of the new Labour manifesto in 1997 is facing an important legal challenge. The Home Information Packs or HIPs for short that are due to become law in England and Wales in June 1st run the risk of becoming a complete and utter nonstarter.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors FRICS had stated that it would seek a judicial review because it felt that the government had not consulted properly on the legal ramifications of the new information packs.
This follows hot on the heels off a fairly damning report compiled by a select committee from the House of Lords that recommended the policy should be scrapped. The trouble with the whole scheme really appears in one way to revolve around the issue that nobody knows how much this will cost.
Government figures suggest that the packs could cost anywhere between 400 and 600 but private industry estimates suggest this figure could be wildly inaccurate with the possibility of the end cost passing the thousand pound mark.
Now the real problem with the whole scheme is that as you can imagine with a policy that was drafted in 1997and is shortly to become law is that quite a few changes have been made along the way. One of the major changes involves who will and who cannot accept the information from the pack as accurate and valid.
It was initially proposed with the first draft of this scheme that mortgage lenders would accept a valuation provided in the sellers Home Information Pack as being valid for lending purposes. As with all situations where there are large sums of money moving around it usually falls to the provider of these funds to decide upon which rules they are going abide by. In This case it appears that the government may not have taken that into consideration.
Strange that as that would appear to be pretty logical to me. You pay the piper you call the tune.
As a result the government have removed this evaluation aspect from the information packs and buyers and their prospective lenders will still be required to undertake separate and independent valuations.
So we are fast approaching a situation whereby sellers will be legally obliged to produce a document that not many people are going to pay attention to.
Now if this doesnt sound like stupidity personified I dont know what does.
That having been said what information will an information pack include? Well firstly it is designed to produce evidence of title. In laymans terms this is proof that the seller has the right to be able to sell the property in question. Secondly the information pack should include copies of planning listed building or building regulations consents and documents. It should also include copies of local searches guarantees for any work carried out on the property and lastly and this might appear to be a fairly contentious aspect. The home information packs are meant to contain an energy performance certificate for the property being sold.
The rational being according to the Home Office Minister Yvette Cooper if you get this information on a fridge then you ought to be able to get this information for a home.
God help us with thinking and rationale like that. Someone keep them talking while I ring for the ambulance.
About the writer: Stephen writes about a number of Internet Issues such as
Its Time To Buy!
The last 6 months have been a bit of a whirlwind. The real estate market has collapsed MLS systems around the country have reached record highs we have absolutely entered a Buyers Marketand the outlook is only getting worse. We are in an election year. Rumors of recession abound. What yet is left to come?
From my perspectivethe BEST is yet to come! If we look at a chart of the market cycles we are at the bottom of the cycle. You know what that means! Now is the time to buy! Now is the time that investors should be entering the market. Now is when investors should be taking action. Now is where the profits are waiting to be reaped! Now is what we call the Millionaire Maker Phase!
What fascinates me most is that in my travels to investment clubs around the country attendance is at an all time low. In fact if I look at my local group as a sampling in August of 2006 we were at our peak attendance. That was also the time that the Real Estate Market was at its peak. More homes were being built rehabbed wholesaled and ultimately sold than any time in the past 10 years. Yet this was also when Real Estate values and prices were at their peak and it was more difficult than ever to find real deals. This is when investors should have been at their most conservative point. Yet this was when most folks were going crazy buying everything they could put under contract. You will notice I did not call them investors
In contrast today is the ideal time for us to look at the most successful investor in any of our lifetimes as a model Warren Buffet now the richest man in the world. If we look at Mr. Buffet as an example we as investors would know that Now is the Time to Buy! The bottom line is when does Buffet buy?…When the market is at the bottom! In the marketplace today when everything is at the bottom most folks are selling! Your job as an investor is to take advantage of these fire sales and sniff out the most amazing deals of your life!
Gone are the days of lease options and subject to deals. The equity has been sapped out of most of those deals. It is time to refocus on the old school style of buy and hold investing. Think of yourself as the Warren Buffet of Real Estate Investingwhat should you do? Buy low and sell high. Well the market has created the perfect storm for buying lowcan you perform on the rest of the equation and hold while property values rebound and appreciate so you can sell high? This is the time where millionaires are made in this business. The question iswill you be one of them?
About the writer: Justin Anderson is a seasoned real estate investor with over 10 years experience in the Real Estate industry. He owns over 500 rental units has rehabbed over 300 units in the last 5 years and has an additional 170 units in the pipeline to be redeveloped or rehabbed in the next 12 months. Additionally Justin has mentored and trained over 2000 students over the course of the last 4 years. He is the cofounder of the Art of Real Estate Investing www.ArtOfRealEstateInvesting.com where you can get Your FREE Copy of The Official Rehabbers Guide to Financial Freedom! The Best Free Real Estate Investment Resource Out There!
Is This A Business Or A Hobby?
One of the most common fatal mistakes I watch new investors make is not taking their new entrepreneurial adventure seriously. While they may talk a good game about their new Business their walk reflects a Hobby.
Many new investors get sucked into the dream of riches delivered through late night television informercials filled with Average Joes turned millionaires overnight with no cash no credit and no experience. Now dont get me wrongwe all need to be sold the dream at one time or another just to get started. And while that is vitally important it is what you do as an investor from that moment forward that really matters.
From my perspective as a full time investor with 8 years of experience and 600 units/properties under my belt the rubber really meets the road when you begin to convert your dreams into reality. This reality is what I commonly call goals. You see a goal is merely a written plan to achieve your dreams. Similarly to convert your hobby into a business all it requires is a written plan!
As a new investor or an investor looking to refocus their business this plan does not have to be complex or sophisticated. In fact it should be quite the opposite. As a new investor a simple plan will often lead to greater success far more efficientlyand often more effectively.
As a beginning investor your plan should really only answer these three key questions:
1.What are you hoping to accomplish?
2.How will you accomplish it?
3.What makes you special?
By clearly and simply describing the answers to these three straightforward questions you will be light years ahead of 90 of all start up businesses. This is the foundation of your treasure map to success. This foundation will immediately transform you hobby into a serious business upon which you can build your empire.
At the end of the day you can treat your new entrepreneurial adventure like a Business or like a Hobby. Just keep in mind if you treat it like a Hobby you will be paid like its a hobby!
About the writer: Justin Anderson is a seasoned real estate investor with over 10 years experience in the Real Estate industry. He owns over 500 rental units has rehabbed over 300 units in the last 5 years and has an additional 170 units in the pipeline to be redeveloped or rehabbed in the next 12 months. Additionally Justin has mentored and trained over 2000 students over the course of the last 4 years. He is the cofounder of the Art of Real Estate Investing www.ArtOfRealEstateInvesting.com where you can get Your FREE Copy of The Official Rehabbers Guide to Financial Freedom! The Best Free Real Estate Investment Resource Out There!