Real Estate Investment Resources

Real Estate Insurance and Risk Management
First, some statistics. In the summer of 2005, the median price of a home rose nearly 15 percent from the year earlier, in some markets, much more. Lenders lowered required credits scores (FICOs), waived some documentation requirements, and raised the debt allowance to 45 percent of income. Some reports estimate that interest-only loans now make up 30 percent of all new mortgages. Nearly 35 percent of mortgages are now ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages). Since June 2004, the U.S. Federal reserve has raised rates 11 times.

.Managing Real Estate Risk - Part I
In the world of property investment, there are various points along the 'just looking' to 'ready to sell' spectrum. Protecting your investment takes on different hues at different points.

.Managing Real Estate Risk - Part II
Investors have a hard life. Rising insurance rates, legal liability, security concerns and increasing interest rates may not be actually conspiring to give them early heart attacks, but it can seem that way. Managing risk is in large part about how to lower uncertainty by dealing appropriately with those and other stress factors.

.Real Estate Tax Considerations For The Investor
There is no more Byzantine human invention than the complex tax codes, and among the most complicated are the laws surrounding real estate investing. So, what follows is NOT to be considered legal advice — consult your attorney or tax accountant before making any decisions.

.Creative Real Estate Financing For Investors
For decades the way to finance a property purchase was 80-20, 20 percent down, 80 percent on loan. Certainly, there have been many who put more down, but 20 percent was considered the bare minimum. Happily, things have changed.

.Real Estate Investment Strategies
According to one study 23 percent of all homes sold in 2004 were purchased as investments. Considering the historical returns, and the high percentage increase in prices over the last few years, this shouldn't be surprising. But there are several ways to profit from an investment in property.

.Commercial Real Estate Investing
According to a recent study in The Economist, residential property investment in developed countries amounted to $48 trillion, while commercial real estate investment (CREI) was 'only' $14 trillion. Though the number may be smaller, CREI is much more complex.

.Rural vs Urban Real Estate Investing
As population shifts occur throughout the world many are finding it possible and desirable to move from urban areas to rural, mountain, and even island locales. In that fact lies a new opportunity for investment.

.Rental Property Investment
No one profits from their own ignorance. Thinking ahead is your best guarantee when considering whether to rent a property into the future or to sell for a fixed profit today.

.Real Estate Investing and Your Portfolio
Since the exponential expansion of products in the 1980s, investments now come in a bewildering variety. Sorting through the technical details and balancing the risks against potential gain of any given mix is a job for professionals. But short of gaining an advanced degree, the educated investor can still improve the odds by following some simple guidelines.

.Real Estate Investment and Maximizing Return
Buy low, sell high. Anyone in any market aims for that, but few succeed. The only reasonable conclusion is it's easier said than done. So, to be part of that group of 'we happy few', consider some of these ways to maximize your return.

Other Real Estate Resources