Archive for the ‘Investments’ Category

Tips For Your Real Estate Finance and Investment Strategy

You may have decided you would like to start investing in property but you are not exactly sure how to go about it. One thing you should do before you begin is to research the financing options that may be available to you.

Most people, when they first begin their endeavor with property investing, find that financing is their only means of purchasing property. The following is some information regarding real estate financing and investment strategy that may be beneficial to you.

When you hear the term “leverage” applied to real estate financing and investment, you will find that this term simply means to use borrowed money for financing your property investment. Your initial investment will be the money that you use for a down payment.

In order for this leverage to be beneficial in your real estate finance and investment strategy, you will want to secure the borrowed money at a low-interest rate and make sure the term of the loan is over the longest period of time that is possible. This is to avoid yourself from being tied up in the property and having least money for your own or other investment usage.

You do have to remember, however, that the risk of your investment is tied in directly with leverage. If you place a small down payment on the property, the leverage is high and the ratio of the amount owed to the value of the property is high, making the property a high risk. The more money you put as a down payment on the property, the lower the leverage and the lower the risk.

Many, in their real estate financing and investment strategy, use pyramiding to acquire more properties. What this simply means is that you are using the equity on one property to help you purchase another.

For example, you purchase a property for $100,000 by making a down payment of $20,000 and borrowing $80,000. The properties value at the time of the purchase is $110,000. Six months later, you have a positive cash flow of $1,000 a month on the property and its value has increased by $40,000 due to your renovations. You now have equity of approximately $70,000 or more in the property.

You take out a home equity loan of $30,000 and this is used for the down payment of another investment property. This is also known as pyramiding and is a real estate finance and investment strategy used by many.

Pyramiding through sale is also another real estate finance and investment strategy used by many, as well. In this method, when your property’s value has increased, you sell instead of taking out a home equity loan.

In the example above, if the same property was sold for its value of $150,000, you would use the money to pay off the initial loan of $80,000, deduct your initial investment of $20,000, what you have paid in interest and principal, as well as the cost of renovations, to discover you’ve made a profit of approximately $25,000 to $30,000 in a matter of a six-month period. This money can then be used as a down payment on another property.

Before you begin investing in property, it is crucial to understand what real estate finance and investment strategy you plan to use. However, it is also important to understand that property investment comes with risk. Research the facts and figures before you make any decision with your real estate finance and investment strategy.

By: Casey Yew

About the Author:

Get Your Real Estate Investment Guide for Your Success Now. Learn More About Fundamentals, Financial Model and Investment Tips of Property Investment. Find Out Which Real Estate Investment Strategy Gives You Good Return.

Caffeinated Content

Investment Property Loan – How to Finance Real Estate Through Private Mortgage Lenders

When considering financing through a Investment Property Loan, you must first locate a private lender with an interest in your particular real estate venture. Investment Property Loan lenders are ordinary people who are willing and financially able to fund your real estate venture by means of their own assets. You can locate private lenders through networking with others in the business, asking for referrals, or making a public presentation to a group of potential private money lenders.

Assuming you have located the private mortgage lender, you will need to set up a meeting to negotiate the terms of the private mortgage loan. Keep in mind that the private lender you choose can secure funds for you through a commercial institution or through personal assets such as bonds, stocks, or cash. You will want to negotiate terms that will present a win-win situation for both you and the lender.

Financing your real estate deals through a Investment Property Loan is not difficult however; it will involve some simple steps with documentation that will include a Promissory Note, Mortgage, Certificate of Insurance, and a Disclosure Statement. It is also a good idea to consider any federal or state security issues (SEC) which occasionally transpire through the private lending process.

The Promissory Note and the Mortgage document: The Promissory Note and the Mortgage document the terms you have agreed upon with the private lender. The Promissory Note explains in detail the terms in which the lender has agreed to fund your real estate venture as well as the terms you have agreed upon to borrow the money. The Mortgage outlines the terms of your performance as the borrower and generally is filed with your local county office by an attorney to insure that the filing process is done correctly.

Certificate of Insurance: The Certificate of Insurance is obtained from the insurance agency of your choice and should be provided to your private lender. The property insurance should include a title to your lender and a title to you as the borrower. It should also outline the exact terms of coverage with regard to property type and causes of loss such as flood, basic, broad, special, or earthquake.

Disclosure Statement: Use of a Disclosure Statement is always a good idea in a real estate transaction due to the fact that investing involves uncertainty and risks. The Disclosure Statement will outline the risks to your private lender, as well as your plans for use of the property and any possibilities for change during the course of the transaction. This statement acts as assurance that both you and the lender are aware of the possible risks involved before you enter into the real estate transaction.

Federal Regulations: You will want to check the federal regulations as well as those for your particular state with regard to what is termed as issuing a Security. In many cases, when you work with a private lender, it is considered issuing a Security under SEC guidelines. To avoid any problems, you may need to register with your state or federal SEC if you do not fall under certain exemptions.

By: Mike Lautensack

About the Author:

I invite you to learn more about Private Money Lending and get my new FREE 20-page ebook titled “Discover the Secrets of How to Fund Your Real Estate Deals with Private Lenders!” by clicking here http://realestatewealthtoday.com/FREE-eBook.htmlMike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur in Philadelphia, PA and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. This powerful done-for-you kit is loaded with tools and techniques to attract and develop a consistent stream of private investors into your real estate business. To learn more about this kit and receive your FREE Real Estate Wealth Newsletter go to Private Lending Presentation Kit

Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress

Business Finance and Commercial Real Estate Investment Loans

A complicated business finance process can occur when an investor previously familiar only with residential property begins investing in commercial real estate investment property and business opportunity situations. Before a borrower attempts to buy a business, it is important to develop a business loan and commercial mortgage strategy.

There are many key differences between financing for commercial property investing and residential real estate investments. Because more residential property investors are exploring commercial property and business finance opportunities, this business opportunity financing and business loan report is designed to help educate new commercial investors about key commercial mortgage and commercial loan issues.

Rather than specifically focusing on issues that differentiate business financing from residential financing (which we have thoroughly analyzed in separate reports), this report will offer a few key observations regarding business finance elements that are often overlooked in new business investment considerations. These factors include credit card processing, business cash advance options and working capital management.

Coordinating Credit Card Processing and Business Cash Advance Programs -

Many business investments will involve the use of credit card processing decisions. These business activities should be analyzed simultaneously with business cash advance programs for several reasons. If done properly, a business should reduce their costs and improve their cash flow.

Reducing Processor Costs in Business Investing -

One of the biggest benefits of coordinating processing with a business cash advance program is the real potential that overall costs can be reduced. This is due to the fact that the most advanced merchant cash advance services will be linked with the lowest cost processors. Many of the best processing providers will not be available for businesses other than through a high-quality receivables factoring arrangement.

Improve Cash Flow for Business Investments -

Factoring strategies can produce a business cash advance up to several hundred thousand dollars. For most businesses, this level of financing is not routinely available via other business finance programs. The decision to secure a merchant cash advance is an increasingly practical business financing response to business lenders eliminating line of credit programs.

Business cash advance programs do come with some potential problems and limitations. It also seems that many business owners are confused by this kind of business finance strategy, and in many cases new business owners rule out the use of a merchant cash advance before they have thoroughly analyzed the pros and cons. Even though credit card financing is usually thought of as short-term business financing, it can be effectively used on a longer-term basis when done properly.

Working Capital Management Strategies -

Obtaining a working capital loan is usually more effective when arranged in conjunction with buying a business. However many lenders do not adequately address this issue in the early business finance stages. Before completing a purchase offer to buy a business, all business loan issues should be discussed in order to fully understand overall commercial financing choices and limitations.

After acquiring a business, it is more likely that business or personal collateral will be a necessity in getting working capital financing. One major exception to this common collateral requirement will be the use of a business cash advance and credit card financing as mentioned above.

Additional Key Investment Business Finance and Real Estate Mortgage Issues -

As previously noted, commercial mortgage and commercial loan requirements are very different from residential financing requirements in the United States. Additional business finance reports include a discussion of many other significant financing factors. Separate report topics include SBA loan refinancing, business opportunity financing, stated income business loans and commercial appraisals.

Most of the additional articles will provide further detail about topics discussed in this report as well as offering business financing solutions for numerous other complex business loan situations. For example, some SBA loan processes can include working capital as part of the total initial financing. For those interested in learning more about both potential advantages and problems associated with coordinating credit card processing and business cash advance services, there are several additional resources which will facilitate a better understanding of these complex business finance issues.

By: Stephen Bush

About the Author:

Stephen Bush and AEX Commercial Financing Group provide business opportunity finance – SBA loan – business finance advice and publish AEX Business Loan – Commercial Mortgage Reports.

finance investment

A Guide to Equity Investment and Equity Finance

How does it Work?
Equity investment is a good way of getting involved into the business decision making process. As an owner, the equity investor has certain control over both operational and strategic issues concerning the business.

An equity investor’s unique interest in and aspiration for certain business sectors and industries influence his or her equity investment decisions as to select what businesses.

The perceived synergy and chemistry between the management of the business/existing owner(s) and the equity investor(s) are important to the success of the joint venture.

Different Types of Equity Investment
Venture capital investment. Venture capitalists invest in businesses at early stages when success or failure of a business is everything but certain. Venture capital investment carries higher risks but also potentially bigger rewards.
Private equity investment. Private equity firms invest in publicly listed companies and then take them private. Away from the public eye, Private equity firms seek to do what they do best, that is, improving management and business efficiencies to make a company more profitable.

Leveraged buyout. This is a rare way to become an equity investor without really investing much of your own equity capital. When a company’s existing owners wish for a way out but can’t find an investor with cash to buy the business, they locate someone called financial sponsor instead, normally a private equity firm but without committing itself to investing its own capital. Next, a business loan called LBO loan is arranged with the owners’ company as the borrower and the cash raised buys out the existing owners, leaving the financial sponsor to be the care taker of the company. The new debt has recourse only on the company, not on the private equity firm. The bootstrap transaction makes the equity firm, the financial sponsor, now the sole “owner” of the company.

Is an equity investment right for you, the investor?
Equity investment is having a business partner. Do you have enough business passions and are ready to get deeply involved in business operations. Or you are better off by lending money and then staying on the side line?

Do you have good inter-personal communication skills to interact well with management of the business.

Are you prepared to risk losing your investment capital if the business fails?

Advantage

As an equity investor, you stand to gain big if the business you invested in prospers.

You learn first-hand knowledge about running a business.

Disadvantage

Potential conflicts with management and existing owners over business decisions.

Your investment capital is potentially a risk capital.

Finding a business

There are many start-ups that may be in need of capital support, as well as some companies in later stages.

If you’re a serious a private equity investor, consider taking an underperforming public company private and turn it around.

You can always invest through the stock market. By accumulating enough shares publicly, try to be a good corporate raider, getting on the company’s board and influencing management for better business.

What do businesses look for?

Show business owners that you as an investor have the same business passions as they do.

Assure both management and owners that you’ll contribute in a good way and leave them enough autonomy.

Convince the business that accepting an equity investment is better than looking for a debt financing, given that they may be short on cash flows from operations at this point of their business.

And finally let them know that you’re a savvy investor and have invested in many businesses successfully.

Checklist

Check against alternative debt investment.

Is the business selected the right kind for you as an investor?

Be ready to have ongoing presentation with management.

Hire a business or management consultant as your advisor to assist you in this business investment venture.

FAQ
Where can I find businesses?

Get in touch with business community, especially through various trade organizations. Attend events sponsored by your local Business Link and chamber of commerce, also other investor conferences where businesses are invited to make their capital-raising pitches to investors.

By: James Pinter

About the Author:

James Pinter, writes about equity investment to help people with business, he also touches on equity finance. Feel free to get in touch if you would like to learn more visit Smarta.com

Caffeinated Content

Personal Finance Tip – Pay Cash For All Non-Investment Expenditures



Most personal finance gurus continually stress the importance of budgeting for monitoring and modifying poor spending habits. However, I have noticed that most people who attempt to implement a family budget eventually give up on the activity, mainly because it takes the fun out of spending money. You know what, I agree! An impulse purchase here and there feels good! And as it turns out, an impulse purchase made on occasion won’t necessarily create a big problem for most us. The problems arise when we decide to make them on credit. Here’s an excellent personal finance tip for all you budget-haters out there – pay cash for all non-investment expenditures and eliminate your need to budget.

What is a Non-Investment Expenditure Anyway?

First off, let’s define investment expenditure. By my own definition, an investment expenditure is a transaction that involves the purchase of an asset that appreciates in value. On the flip side, a non-investment expenditure represents all other transactions. One quick check you can make before whipping out your credit card to buy something is to ask yourself, “Is there a high likelihood that I will be able to sell this item in the future for more than I am paying now?” If the answer is “no,” pay cash. If you don’t have the money, you can’t make the purchase. It’s that simple.

Examples of Non-Investment Expenditures

Unfortunately, the vast majority of our everyday spending is classified as non-investment expenditures. Groceries, fuel for the vehicles, dining out, your cell phone bill, a new pair of designer jeans – these are all non-investment expenditures. Some of these items may be extremely important, even life sustaining. But purchasing on credit, even for life sustaining expenditures, encourages excess. Let’s take food, for instance. To purchase enough food for the family to survive really does not cost much money. What costs us a pile of money are the rib-eye steaks, junk food, alcoholic beverages, and sodas we routinely buy. Moreover, these foods are bad for our health! Grocery shopping with cash forces us to reconsider the food choices we make, in terms of both health and money. And that’s a good thing.

What Else is There?

You may be asking yourself, “Would any of my spending be classified as investment expenditures?” For me, two things come to mind – your home and your education. A home is rather obvious because, over time, houses have always increased in value. A college education would also be considered an investment because it provides one the opportunity to earn more money than he would otherwise make. Because these two items are considered investments, taking out a loan to pay for them can be justified. In addition, home mortgages and college loans offer some of the lowest interest rates of any form of credit, making them even more attractive expenditures.

One Caveat to Consider

Although following the above advice can eliminate the need for a budget, one other choice must be made to assure financial success in the future. An automatic investment plan must be initiated to make certain your investment accounts are funded before all the money is spent. If you work for a company that offers a 401k plan, this is done automatically. If you have outside accounts, you will have to notify the firm to initiate automatic transfers from your checking account. With most firms, you can set up the automatic transfers yourself from your online account interface.

Summary

Although a budget is a fantastic tool for monitoring and modifying our spending habits, the cold hard truth is that many of us will never stick to one. Should these folks be doomed to financial hell for the rest of their lives for this so-called lack of discipline? Of course, not! Just follow our simple personal finance tip to pay cash for all non-investment expenditures and you, too, will reach financial success in the future.

By: Charles Hebert

About the Author:
Charles Hebert invites you to visit his website, http://www.smartmoneyadvocate.com/, where he shares his views on a wide variety of personal finance topics. Through his website, he aims to improve the financial decision making of the average individual by advocating simple strategies that can be applied by anyone. You can sign up for his free ezine, “Personal Finance Savvy,” at: http://www.smartmoneyadvocate.com/EzineSignup.html.



finance investment

How to Finance Investment Property – 4 Key Questions You Need to Ask Yourself!



How to finance investment property is a question that anyone involved with making money from property has to ask themselves at some point. This article will help you to understand some things that you need to understand, and questions you need to keep in mind in order to finance investment property effectively and profitably.

What is the long term goal for the property?

This question is key because if you plan to renovate the property and sell it straight on then you will want to make sure that you have your finance set up in such a way so as not to incur large fees to pay off any loan you have taken out to buy the property. If you plan to rent it out and you are UK based then you will need a buy to let mortgage and you might want to have a fixed rate for a least a couple of years on the mortgage, especially if the interest rates are fluctuating at the time of purchase.

Do you have back up funding in place?

Ideally you want to have more than one lender as an option to fund your purchase; therefore, if the lender you are using gets cold feet or wants to back out for some reason, you have other options already prepared. This is particularly important in the current market place since we are in the midst of a global financial crisis and many lenders are either tightening their purse strings or filing for bankruptcy.

Are you credit worthy?

Even if you have bought investment property before, don’t take it for granted that you are credit worthy enough to buy it again. As a professional property investor or developer one of your main priorities should be to make sure that you have an impeccable credit history.

The strange thing is that this actually means having some debt. You could have 10 properties that you pay the mortgage for on time every month without fail, yet when you try to buy another one, they refuse you. There are many potential reasons for this, one of them being that sometimes lenders like to see you with some unsecured debt that you are paying off. If in any doubt as to your credit worthiness check with one of the top credit reference agencies to see what they have on file about you and to get some advice.

What are the tax implications of the purchase?

When thinking about how to finance investment property, you need to have a grasp on what the tax implications are for you personally to invest in the property you are considering buying. Sometimes it is better to buy property as an individual; sometimes it is better to buy as a company.

There is no hard and fast rule. A major consideration, is what are your plans for the future, if you plan to move abroad in five years for good, you might invest with a different strategy than someone who plans to live in their particular country for the rest of their life.

It is advisable to speak to a tax specialist about your plans for buying property and your long-term goals in life in general, so that you buy the right type of property in the right way. By doing this one thing you could be saving yourself hundreds of thousands of pounds in a relatively short period of time.

By: Carlton Johnson

About the Author:
Financing property is just one of the considerations that property investors have to keep in mind. To get more invaluable tips and to take advantage of our current give away of a free book on property investing, visit the investment property guru website.



Create a video blog…instantly.

How to Finance Investment Property



Many people would like to get into the world of real estate investing, but have many questions. While real estate can be a lucrative place to make money, history teaches us that it is also a place to go bankrupt. One of the most key questions that must be answered before entering into an investment property is, “how will I finance this property?”

Should I Finance At All?

Many people decide not to invest in real estate until they have considerable savings with which to do so. This leads them to question whether they should finance at all. While exposure to leverage can be dangerous, it is usually a necessary component to make real estate investing work. Real estate investing is keyed around appreciation and if an asset is appreciating, you would like to obtain it for as little cash as possible. If your property isn’t appreciating, then you have entered into a bad investment to begin with.

Seller Financing

Almost all bold claims about making a fortune in the real estate market are predicated on the notion of “seller financing.” In this model, the person who sells you their property accepts a small or no down-payment and allows you to make your monthly payments to them. This of course would be a great bargain, but it is very rare in the real world. While some people may be looking for an investment opportunity when leaving their house, most would rather put their equity into a more secure vehicle than loaning money to a stranger.

Realistic Financing

If you want to run realistic, reproducible financing numbers, it is best to assume you will have to put 20% down on your property. Banking institutions are immediately leery of lending money to real estate investors, but at that rate, even if you default they will probably make their money back. While this won’t allow you to achieve the kind of ludicrous returns many “Investment Programs” claim, it will put you in a leveraged position to make gains in a positive real estate market without over-extending yourself. Managing risk is an important part of any investment strategy.

There are many more considerations when considering investing in real estate. Much care and consideration should be invested before deciding to purchase property. While real estate can be a valuable part of a diversified portfolio, it is not a “get rich quick” scheme and requires careful planning.

By: Bradley A Johnson

About the Author:
Bradley A Johnson writes about investing at InvestingFirstSteps.com. Before you invest in real estate be sure to visit and read about creative real estate investing.



Website content

Business Opportunity Loan – Investment Finance Strategies



The quality of business financing will directly effect the success of business opportunity investment strategies. Business finance strategies for business investments not involving real estate are more problematic than most borrowers expect, especially if investors are primarily familiar with real estate investing.

Buying a business opportunity is likely to be an extremely challenging task when arranging the business loan. This is largely due to the usual lack of commercial property as collateral for the business financing to buy a business. When buying a business that does not include commercial real estate, business borrowers need to realize that business loan options will be greatly reduced in comparison to a business purchase that can be financed with a commercial mortgage.

Business Opportunity Investment Financing Guidelines -

The guidelines and comments in this article are based upon business loan terms that are typically available from respected lenders willing to provide business financing for buying a business opportunity throughout the United States. There will often be various private financing scenarios in which the seller might be willing to wholly finance a business acquisition, and we will not attempt to discuss those commercial loan possibilities in this commentary.

Length of Business Loan to Expect When Buying a Business -

Business loan terms to buy a business will typically include a shorter amortization period than commercial real estate financing. A business loan term of ten years is normal, and that length of loan is likely to be tied to a requirement that the commercial lease will not expire before the loan matures.

Likely Interest Rates to Buy a Business -

In the current business loan interest rate environment, the likely range for buying a business opportunity is 11 to 12 percent. Because a rate of 10-11 percent is currently normal for commercial real estate financing, the rate for business borrowing should be viewed as quite reasonable. The commercial loan interest rate cost to purchase a small business is typically higher than the cost of a commercial real estate loan due to the absence of business property for collateral in a business purchase.

Down Payment Requirements -

Depending on the specific type of business and some other issues, a normal down payment for a business loan to buy a business is 20 to 25 percent. The presence of seller financing might lessen the down payment needed to acquire a small business opportunity.

Refinancing Options -

A related business loan issue to anticipate when buying a business is that refinancing the business opportunity loan terms will normally be even more difficult than the original business financing. There are several new working capital loan programs under development that could significantly change future choices for business refinancing. Until these new business financing alternatives are available, it is advisable to obtain the best financing terms when the business is initially acquired and not rely upon future refinancing choices.

Lenders to Avoid -

Perhaps the most important phase of the business loan process for buying a business opportunity is the selection of a commercial lender. In our view an even more critical stage of this process is avoiding certain lenders that are routinely unsuccessful in finalizing a business loan to buy a business.

By avoiding such lenders, commercial borrowers are likely to avoid many other business financing problems frequently associated with buying a business opportunity. Avoiding problem lenders will be instrumental to the eventual success of both the business loan process and the long-term financial health of the business being acquired.

By: Stephen Bush

About the Author:
S.A. Bush is a business finance expert. For details about business opportunity loan – commercial mortgage – business cash advance strategies, please visit AEX Commercial Financing Group – Business Loan Solutions.



Create a video blog

How to Finance an Investment Property



The secret in real estate business is to use other people’s money. This is how most real estate tycoons are made. Unlike traditional residential real estate mortgages, real estate financing offers much broader financial options, including lending or financing from various financial institutions. Transactions like these call for above-average negotiation skills.

It’s not advisable to invest your own money in a real estate as for a few very important reasons. First, you you tend to give most of your profits away by not leveraging your investment. Second, real estate is a very risky business – you don’t want to jeopardize everything you have.

This is not to say that real estate investment is all about losses. On the contrary. if you know how to make money work for you, you may actually garner a great deal of money in return for your investment.

Here’s how:

If, for example, you purchase a $100,000 property that increases an average of 7 percent per year (in reality that number could be higher or lower), you would see a net profit from renting your property resulting in an approximately 15 percent return.

If you’re content with little return of investment, you might settle with your 15 percent return. But if you really want to earn on your investment, consider the possibility of what leveraging can do for you. At present, a typical real estate investor can find financing as high as 95 to 97 percent of the purchase price. There even some instances where you may be able to get a 100 percent financing but we won’t use this for our example as it’s an inadequate comparison.

So, if you’re are an investor who is already content with a smallreturn of investment then 15 percent sounds like a lot. But for those who really want to make it big in the real estate, 15 percent is far from being considered a noteworthy return.

How does leveraging work?

Let’s assume that the rental income will cover all your expenses, including the mortgage payments. Taking the same example, a 7 percent appreciation of your property results in a $7,000 profit per year. With a 95% financing in place, you’ll be able to get a $7,000 return on $5,000 (your 5 percent down payment on a $100,000 real estate property). This will provide you with a 140 percent return on your investment. Not only that, with the same $100,000 you can go out and purchase 20 investment properties, finance 95% percent of them, and make an amazing $140,000 profit a year. This totally beats the $15,000 profit with an all-cash transaction.

In terms of the additional 20 properties, expect to have a hard time getting financing for them since usually only five or six new rental property mortgages are the maximum that lenders presently allow. Which is why you need to have an above-average negotiation skills.

By: Stu Pearson

About the Author:
Stu Pearson has an interest in Finance & Business and Investment Property, for more FREE information and articles please visit Investment Property Resources



Caffeinated Content

Getting Your Finance Pre-Approved For an Investment Property



So now that you know what your basic plan is, it’s time to start getting a little serious and put some structure into your actions. The first thing you need to do is to get ‘pre approval’ for a loan. In other words you need to find a lender that suits your needs and get them to agree ‘in writing’ to lend you a certain amount of money to buy a Property. I remember when I bought my first property feeling completely over my head when it came to getting my finance into place. I had so many questions – most of which I managed to answer by trial and error. I will try to give you a detailed overview of all the question, problems and answers that I have encountered with getting finance.

Q. Why do I need to get ‘pre approval’ of a loan?

A. You don’t NEED to get pre approval but I highly recommend you DO for a number of reasons.

- Pre-approval will let you to know EXACTLY how much your budget is and therefore allow you to exclude properties that are out of your price range. This can save you valuable time.

- If you are competing against other buyers then having ‘pre-approval’ will definitely give you a big head start and allow you to take advantage of Vendors who are looking for a quick sale. Think about it – If you were the vendor and two people both offered you $350k for your house BUT one of them had ‘pre-approval’ whilst the other didn’t. Who would you choose? It’s a no brainer, there are even times when you offer $1k -$30k less than somebody else and they still choose you. Why? Because for one reason or another the vendor needs to sell straight away and they can’t wait to find out if the other offer will be approved.

- Keep STRESS to an absolute Minimum. There is nothing worse than having your offer accepted and then having to wait for the bank to make their decision. This is especially the case if you haven’t got a home loan before or are self employed.

Q. Should I use a Mortgage Broker?

A. Yes, a good mortgage broker should save you thousands of dollars and help you get a loan easily. If you are buying your first property then you will appreciate as much help as you can get. Mortgage brokers deal with banks every single day and they should know how to get you a loan and more importantly WHAT loan to get. Have you noticed that there are a million different loan options these days? A good mortgage broker will know which one suits your situation and save you lots of time and money. Always do your own research but if you find someone who you trust you should have no problems. Best of all you don’t even have to pay them; the bank will do that on your behalf. So really there is no reason NOT to use one. Just remember find a Broker who you trust and get along with.

Q. What sort of loan should I get, and what does Interest only mean?

A. The best person to advise you on this is your broker but generally speaking Investors only ever use Interest only loans. What this means is that they will never own the house outright, instead they make smaller repayments that only cover the interest bill. This can be a crazy idea to get your ‘head around’ at first but the reason is quite simple. The lower your repayments are on your property the less restricted your cash flow is, therefore you have more excess money to help finance your next investment property. The logical question is – but if you never pay off the house how can you make any money? As we learnt in Chapter 1, you can still access the equity in your property without selling or completely paying off the house (see chapter 8 for more details). It’s also worth mentioning that the Interest component of an Investment loan IS tax deductible whilst the principle repayments are NOT, just another reason why Professional investors always use Interest only loans.

Q. Should I fix my Interest rate or leave it variable?

A. I have a basic rule or recommendation when it comes to this question. When you first see banks raise their long term fixed rates you know it is time fix your loan. Using this rule and some common sense you should be able to work out what’s best for you.

Q. How much do I need to save for a deposit?

A. Once again it depends on your situation and circumstances. A ‘normal’ property loan would include a 20% deposit but professional investors will always try and pay as little deposit as possible. So, would I recommend getting a 95% loan? With caution and common sense, yes I would – BUT every situation is different and I obviously wouldn’t recommend for someone who is earning $20,000 a year to get a 100% loan for a $500,000 property. Use your common sense whilst doing everything possible to make it happen for you. The worst feeling in the world is when you have saved a decent deposit but decide to wait another 6 months to save that extra little bit only to find out that house prices have risen and your deposit is now effectively worth less than it was 6 months ago.

By: Banjo Smyth

About the Author:
For access to a Free Investment DVD and an amazing Free Wealth Creation pack valued at over $100 simple go to http://www.SharesPropertyMoney.com or learn more about Investing & Wealth Creation at my blog http://www.BanjoSmyth.com



Caffeinated Content