Look Past the Bottom Line for a Property's Potential

After asking and answering them, investors might try taking off the blinders and thinking outside of the box. Our population is growing, and land -- unlike cars, furniture, or other structures -- cannot be remade. Real estate investors might ask themselves these simple questions:

1. Is there growth in the area where the property is located? Is there anywhere for the growth to go? If so, is it headed towards your property's location?

2. Has the city or county zoned the are for revitalization or economic development? If so, are there any special funds or benefits available?

3. Is the property accessible to public transportation?

4. Are people beginning to look for homes in this area? If so, investors want to be looking far in advance of others to secure the best property deals.

5. Is the property value in the neighborhood in a slump or an upswing? Purchase during a slump for maximum profits. The truth is, an investor not make a profit from the property for the first two years. Investment property owners should be looking at the long-term, because they may make money over the next 15 years, while others are not.

Check County Records for Property Value. Do your research, or hire a REALTOR who is motivated to do it correctly. Speak to neighbors to understand the benefits of living there. Look at the neighborhood surrounding the area, and try to determine if those homes have increased in value. For a solid indicator, consider county property tax figures.

In some areas you will find a slight increase in the tax base of 1-3%. In other areas, like Williamsburg, Virginia, taxes have increased 15-13%. Tax base increases are linked to improved property value.

Are Revitalization Funds Available? If your investment property venture is a legitimate business, contact the local Chamber of Commerce and county government to see if there are special funds available for revitalization projects. Most Chamber of Commerces provide such programs as well as classes where investors learn how to access these funds.

There are lots of great examples of properties with potential. I'd like to share some background about one of my own listings, a motel in Williamsburg that has not been open for three years. The owners do not know when it was built - probably in the 50s or 60s. The motel sits on 2 1/3 acres of land, which is all zoned commercially. The motel is situated right on a main thoroughfare that was once called "The Golden Mile" of Williamsburg. It's geographic location has real potential.

HASSLE-FREE HOMEBUYING

In order to sell your home, there are 2 things you can do to make every step run smoothly. The first is to select a professional agent who knows the real estate business. Who knows your local market, has both a solid reputation for integrity and a solid record of success, and clearly is eager to respond to your needs.

The second is to make your agent your teammate in the literal sense of the word, using teamwork to be sure that the house you ultimately buy is the house you've always wanted. Making your agent your teammate requires choosing an agent you feel able to trust both as a person and as a professional. And that's no small matter.

In real estate as in all areas of business - as in all aspects of life, actually - trust can make all the difference in the world.

True teamwork is nearly impossible to achieve unless you stick with one agent throughout the buying process. By all means you should shop around - and shop around carefully - when you're still deciding which agent to work with. Once you've made that decision, however, don't reverse it unless (and this rarely happens to people who are careful in the first place) something specific happens to make it clear that your choice was unwise. Teammate status is all the motivation a first-rate agent needs to go all-out in finding houses that suit your needs.

And if you're concerned about what it is you're looking for and how much house you think you can afford, your agent can save you huge amounts to time and effort. If you're not sure how much you can afford, be candid with your agent about that, too.

He or she can provide you with some helpful preliminary guidelines and can put you in touch with mortgage lenders who know how to get you focused on an appropriate price range. It's always a good idea, as you look at listed homes, to give your agent a lot of feedback on what you've seen.

Good feedback will refine and sharpen the agent's understanding of your likes and dislikes, which in turn will make it easier to find the house of your dreams.The ultimate payoff, once again, is that you get to your goal more quickly, expending less time and less effort along the way. Anyone who have ever done it this way will assure you of one thing -- it pays off.

by W. Troy Swezey HASSLE-FREE HOMEBUYING

You can generate Worldwide Income From Home. This is my Global Financial Adsense Empire powered by The Home Income Portal.