Real Estate Information

Rehab Your Way to Wealth: The Quick Way to Fixer-Upper Success


Completely rebuilding a house is not necessary to make money in investment real estate. Most times, if you have bought smart, you won't have to make a huge improvements on your investment property. Look for places that need only a small amount of work. For example, look for a property that appears to be run down from the outside, but does not need major repair. Here are a few tips for saving money and making quick improvements, in order to quickly sell your rehab property.

1. A house may need a coat of paint but have a nice roof. The paint might cost a few hundred dollars, while a new roof might cost $2,000 to 3,000. Plus, a fresh coat of paint makes almost any house look brand new.

2. Check the foundation very carefully. Foundation work is extremely expensive. I would stay away from any house with a questionable foundation.

3. Like exterior paint, landscaping goes very far in terms of curb appeal, one of the biggest factors in the sale of any kind of real estate. A house with uncut grass, weeds overrunning flowerbeds, and poorly trimmed bushes or trees is very difficult to sell. Conversely, a house with minor deficiencies in other areas may still have a buyer, who wants something that looks good from the outside.

4. Look for investment properties that have nice kitchens or kitchens that can become nice with little effort and money. If you can refinish some cabinets and lay some cheap flooring, this will help you sell, because women are instrumental in the final decision of most real estate purchases, and they love nice kitchens. It's not sexist; it's a proven real estate fact.

5. A finished basement or one that can be finished easily will also help you sell your new investment property. Basement carpet can be purchased and installed for very little money. Again, some paint on the walls can go a long way to making the basement homier. Add a drop ceiling - easy to install and very inexpensive, and you can have yourself a rec room for a few hundred dollars.

Although these are not the only things that will improve your property, they are a few of the cheapest and easiest. Plus, these are improvements that will increase your investment property's value exponentially and make it easy to sell.

Mark Barnes is an investment real estate and real estate finance expert. Get his free mortgage finance course at http://www.winningthemortgagegame.com. Mark is also the author of the new novel, The League, a shocking, sports-related conspiracy. Learn more about his suspense thriller at http://www.sportsnovels.com.


MORE RESOURCES:

Globe and Mail

Bernanke Wants to Lend to Real Estate Investors
TheStreet.com
By Shanthi Bharatwaj 02/10/12 - 02:59 PM EST NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that making loans more easily available to real estate investors for bulk purchases of homes would be an important step in resolving ...
Home builders and investors both see signs of a turnDetroit Free Press
Bernanke's speech to home buildersReuters

all 261 news articles »


Real-Estate Crash Aids the Green Movement
Wall Street Journal
By LAURA KUSISTO The real-estate crash left pockets of the region's rural areas littered with the remnants of would-be golf courses, shopping centers and luxury subdivisions that never got off the ground. But the market swoon has yielded an unexpected ...

and more »


Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market ...
Chicago Tribune
The housing market might be fragile at best, but some professors and MBA's say real estate is one area where business school students can find jobs. David Hartzell, a professor of real estate and finance at the University of North Carolina--Chapel ...

and more »


Top 10 U.S. Real Estate Sector ETFs
TheStreet.com
By Dave Fry 02/10/12 - 03:58 PM EST There is currently an expanding list of nearly 20 ETFs oriented to primarily REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) with more on the way. The following analysis features a fair representation of ETFs available.
Trading the Run on Real Estate Investment TrustsSchaeffers Research

all 3 news articles »


RisMedia.com

Builders group sees pickup in housing this year
San Francisco Chronicle
By ALEX VEIGA, AP Real Estate Writer The US housing market will begin to mount a turnaround this year, building toward a solid recovery in 2013, according to a forecast issued Wednesday by the chief economist of a homebuilding industry trade group.
This week's Real Estate storiesMarketWatch
Menendez Bill Applauded by Home Builders for Restoring the Flow of Credit for ...LoanSafe

all 147 news articles »


Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers Names CEO of European Operations
Sacramento Bee
By Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers HARTFORD, Conn., Feb. 10, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, one of the world's largest real estate investment advisers, has named Charles Weeks as chief executive officer of its European ...

and more »


Fort Worth Star Telegram

Evangelical real estate developer brought Santorum to North Texas
Fort Worth Star Telegram
By Bud Kennedy If Rick Santorum eventually wins Texas Republicans over, one of Texas' leading real estate developers should share credit. Last month, Jeff Blackard of the McKinney-based Blackard Group went undercover in South Carolina as a walk-in ...

and more »


Press-Enterprise

REAL ESTATE: California receives up to $18 billion in multistate settlement
Press-Enterprise
β€œIt is a good first step but only a step toward the solutions we need,” said Kevin Stein, associate director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, a real estate consumer advocacy group. In California, the banks have guaranteed more than $12 billion ...
Foreclosure settlement could actually hurt real estate marketThe Real Deal New York (blog)
Will bank settlement help Florida's real estate market?Palm Beach Post (blog)
Florida Gets $8.4 Billion Share of Foreclosure SettlementLoanSafe
Sacramento Bee -GlobeSt.com -Statesman Journal
all 3,502 news articles »


Florida Commercial Real Estate Market Looks Good for Recovery
LoanSafe
by Alex Ferreras on February 10, 2012 in Real Estate (Source: CB Richard Ellis) – The industry's leading commercial real estate professionals believe it is safe to say that as we head into 2012, the worst of the economic turmoil is behind us and ...
FLORIDA COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET ON TRACK FOR RECOVERYRealEstateRama (press release)

all 2 news articles »


New York Times

For Sellers, High End Is Hot
New York Times
WHILE the economy remains stubbornly sluggish and home sales nationwide continue to sag, Manhattan's real estate market has largely stabilized, with apartments in some neighborhoods selling for prices not seen since the headiest days of the boom.

and more »

Google News

home | site map
© 2006