Archive for September, 2010
Exposed: The Truth About Baby Boomers Second Homes
Contrary to the common belief that baby boomers are the richest amongst us up to date statistics are now telling us that in this generation only the same percentage owns second homes as was the case with their parents. And this could even just be because they inherited!
So why do we all think that the baby boomers have it all together? Is it because we think they can economize so well? They were raised by parents who went through the war and grew accustomed to a frugal way of life. Is it because we read that they are going to be the last generation to have a big fat private pension?
In fact we may have this assumption because of a misunderstanding or skew in the reporting of such facts. There is some truth in the fact that baby boomers have caused the second homes market to increase considerably but this is only because the baby boomers form such a large portion of the population.
Therefore more second homes have been bought but only the same percentage of the whole population of baby boomers have actually managed to buy a second home. It is the aging population that has swelled not the desire for a second home.
A recent survey “Housing Trends Among Baby Boomers” has thrown up some interesting facts. The research was conducted by the Research Institute for Housing America: a section of the Mortgage Bankers Association. Perhaps the most surprising fact unearthed was that only 15
of homeowners over 50 own a second home. This is about the same percentage as in their parents’ generation.
However this does not imply that the other 85 stick at home all the time. An extremely popular ‘getaway’ for the baby boomers and other older cohorts is taking the RV to a resort and spending several months in the warm. This is commonly known as ‘snow birding’. It is also a popular pasttime when retired to drive the car to an RV resort and rent an RV for a few months.
The survey on second homes and baby boomers turned up another interesting fact that any prospective secondhomeowners should mull over. It seems that half of second home owners spend only two weeks or less at their second home and one third spend four weeks or less quite an eye opener. Perhaps this explains why 45 of second home owners in the survey sold their homes after six years.
This could indicate that a vacation home nearer to home may get more use. It may also mean that your extended family could afford to use it more often either with or without you if it were reachable by car.
Most baby boomers who are downsizing or looking for a second home do not seek out urban areas. Demand for second homes is strongest in California Florida and New England as well as desert mountain and coastal regions all over the country.
The demand for mortgages on second homes only accounts for 6 of the mortgage market. However the report also noted that many second homes are inherited by baby boomers or bought with cash.
Reasons for choosing to buy a second home seem to be very varied. The idea of having a vacation home that will eventually become a permanent retirement home seems to exist only in our fantasies! However the survey tells us that it does still happen; 12 of all baby boomers owning second homes eventually sell their first home and retire to the second home.
About the writer: Carolyn Capalbo is an expert military relocation specialist and real estate agent serving Prince William County VA real estate. Visit Just4Real.com to find updated market information about areas in Prince William including Loudoun County real estate.
Expired Real Estate Listings Buyers And Investors Have Accesss To Them Too
Expired Real Estate Listings have been the near exclusive domain of real estate agents for as long as I can remember. Top producing agents know that expireds don’t require a lot of effort to get yet yield a high return on their time and money invested in marketing them. And all you have to do to find them is log into your MLS system enter the dates that you’re interested in and presto there they are.
But the days of exclusivity may be drawing to a close as buyers and investors are competing for those same expireds. They too are starting to realize that expireds offer special opportunities for them as well but instead of listings they get to bid on properties that are all of a sudden off the market and may be reduced by at least the cost of the real estate listing fee which is no longer in effect because it expired too.
But buyers and sellers are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to expired listings they don’t have easy access to the MLS system. They can’t just log into the MLS system they don’t have access to it.
Instead they have to be a little more innovative. Some sign Buyer Broker Agreements whereby they hire and pay agents to help them buy real estate. And since the agents will get paid by the buyer they can then expand the properties shown to their prospective buyers to include expired real estate listings fsbos and even properties that are actively listed in MLS systems.
Suddenly buying options for buyers and investors expand threefold. Agents are now free to show them almost any property on the market and the Buyer Broker contract ensures that they’ll get paid.
The concept is a little unorthodox and is not utilized by many but those that do know about it are finding that there are more buying options than they would otherwise have.
My first Buyer Broker experience was as an agent and it was a wonderful experience. At the time I was struggling to pay gas to usher clients around town to look at houses only to have them walk away without buying anything or go on to another agent and buy something.
And what was so good about it is that I got a pretty sizeable nonrefundable retainer fee so if they had walked away I would have felt adequately compensated for the time spent with them. But I didn’t have to worry about that because they ended up buying a home and I got a full fee for my services.
So listen up buyers and investors. If you’re looking for a great deal you might want to seriously retaining an agent to search expired real estate listings for you which can in some instances be as good as buying foreclosures. Sellers are pretty motivated to get their properties sold and are likely to be very happy to work with your agent to negotiate a sale.
And for you agents out there a Buyer Broker contract to find expireds can open up a new channel of possibilities. So what are you waiting on?
About the writer: Visit Real Estate Marketing Talk to learn more about expired real estate listings and other lead generating strategies.
Eliminate Void Periods In Letting Your Property
Tenanting your property as quickly as humanly possible should be a priority when it comes to rental accommodation. A key factor in finding a tenant quickly has a lot to do with the rental research that is required when investing in a buy to let property. If you have purchased a property within an area that has great demand for rental property then straight away you are giving yourself a fantastic chance of eliminating costly void periods.
In addition if demand out strips supply then the rental price may increase so not only are you greatly increasing your chance of eliminating costly void periods you can achieve a great rental price too. This sounds like very basic information but you would be surprised how many landlords/investors over look these very important factors. Youll also find that rental property is more likely to fly of the shelf if it is situated close to certain places within the community such as:
Tube stations
Train stations
Main Bus depot/stations
Hospitals
High street locations and shopping malls
So coupled with these places and a great location for renting due to your due diligence with regard to rental research you should have no problems in tenanting your property very quickly indeed and keeping the property free of void periods.
So you ask what should I do if Ive bought a buy to let property in an area that doesnt have very good rental prospects. Well firstly you should take notice of the information given above and in the previous topic on rental research so that you dont place yourself in this situation again. Second you should note that the internet has become a major resource for tenants looking for property with 8590 of people searching for property using the internet and web sites such as Rightmove.co.uk FindaProperty.com Propertyfinder.com and Fish4Homes.co.uk to find the property they desire. At Discount letting service direct you can showcase your properties on all of these property portals and many more. With the use of a vast internet resource its becoming easier to tenant properties because of the massive exposure provided by the internet.
Before you start letting your property you will initially need to decide if you would like to go down the DIY route of tenanting your property or the more conventional agent route. Here are some questions to ask yourself before making this decision.
Can you afford a full management service from a letting agent?
Can you afford a finders fee payment from a letting agent?
Should you concern yourself with monitoring rental payments?
How far away is the property?
Are you to busy to deal with tenants enquiries and concerns?
Once you have made you decision you can then move on to finding a tenant.
If you can afford the costly full management fee which normally comes in at around 1015 of your total rental income then you are taking a lot of the work out of renting property but beware you are also missing out on a lot of the valuable returns too. With full management the agent should take care of everything to do with the tenancy from start to finish then manage the whole letting process including looking after the deposit transferring funds to your bank account plus invoices every month and all maintenance issues not including maintenance costs. This all sounds ok but even though youve opted for the costly full management service this doesnt mean that your property will be tenanted any quicker than if you were to manage the property yourself.
When using a conventional letting agent you do not sign a sole agency agreement or any other contract to tie you to that agent whilst they are showcasing your property so its a good idea to get four or five keys made for your property so that you can instruct four or five agents at the same time this will definitely increase your chance of finding a tenant quickly and will not cost you a penny more than instructing just the one agent. The pressure is on the agent to find a tenant before the other agents do.
With regard to the property itself it is in the landlords interest to offer for rental a nice clean property that has neutral dcor throughout. Many agents will tell you that a furniture pack is a must but what happens if the agent finds you a tenant who has their own furniture are you going to loose the tenant? Or is the agent going to pay you for the furniture pack that youve just bought? No. It is a good idea to decorate a property with a few items of borrowed or rented furniture and maybe some flowers but dont over do it as the tenant doesnt want to see what your taste in furniture is like they want a rental property that looks clean and tidy so that they can move in and make it their own. At least this way you havent spent a small fortune on furnishings and theres less to worry about.
If you are still having trouble tenanting your property there are a couple of other topics you can take a look at:
Consider lowering the price of your rental. Maybe you have over priced your property so check with your agents and take a look at similar properties in the surrounding area. If you would like an experienced UK letting agent to carry out a market comparable report please call Discount letting service direct on 02086970984 or email enquirydiscountlettingservicedirect.co.uk
Consider offering the tenant an additional service to the property at no extra charge i.e. Broadband TV licence Evening and weekend calls free of charge. All of these services are very cheap today so for the sake of loosing 30/40 per quarter this could be a major plus for the tenant and place your property in a much more desirable position in the rental market.
Offer a lower deposit amount to what other landlords are charging for their properties in the surrounding area. This can sway a tenant who is having trouble coming up with a full deposit of six weeks rent and a full months rental in one large payment.
There are many factors offered here that could determine whether you tenant your property quickly or not but all of these factors can be put into place without using a conventional agent. You can showcase your rental property to millions of waiting tenants all over the internet which is where 8590 of people searching for property choose to look first. Using a service like Discount letting service direct you can place your rental property in front of millions of waiting tenants by an email mail shot and exposure on property portals such as Rightmove.co.uk FindaProperty.com Propertyfinder.com Fish4Homes.co.uk HotProperty.co.uk MSN Yahoo AOL Channel4 and many more. With the help of the Discount letting service direct you will achieve all the internet exposure you will need for only 59 reduced to 49 all landlord association members for a 2 month package thats just 0.97p per day.
Having received a massive amount of internet exposure for a very small fee you can continue down the DIY route where you can drastically increase you rental returns and profits made. If this process were to be used throughout your portfolio the increase in profit may mean the difference between an under performing portfolio and a successful portfolio which puts you on the road to financial freedom.
If you have had trouble tenanting your property or would like to keep more of your rental returns for yourself please register your property and realize its full potential. Contact a Discount letting service direct advisor on 020 8 697 0984 for more information or visit www.discountlettingservicedirect.co.uk .
About the writer: Anthony DeFrietas is a representative of www.buybarbados.com your source for Barbados real estate. Come and have a look at what Barbados has to offer. Visit us online at www.buybarbados.com today.