All Posts Tagged With: "real estate market"
Don’t get caught in the foreclosure frenzy
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Fri, Nov 20 2009 | 0 Comments
In this real estate market, you can find yourself thinking that a house is a good deal just because it has been put on the auction block after a foreclosure. While it may seem that you are getting a good deal on a house, there are certain things that you have to keep in mind to keep yourself from getting caught up in the frenzy and getting into a house that you actually don’t want and that you will find yourself resenting in the future.
First and foremost, don’t get caught up in a bidding war for a foreclosure unless you are 100% sure of what that property is worth. Some times a foreclosed property will be completely stripped of anything that is worth ANYTHING in the property such as copper wiring and other fixtures throughout the house. While many of the houses on the market aren’t that dire, it is still important to try to have a contractor or someone else with you who knows how much repairs on the house are going to cost.
In my opinion it is the most important to not get caught up in thinking that you have gotten a deal on a house. In some cases foreclosures are selling for more than houses that are actually “for sale” in neighborhoods just because of the buying frenzy that surrounds the listings.
Ensure that you know what the neighborhood is worth prior to bidding on a home.
Secondly, after you have made the decision to buy a home that has found its way into the foreclosure listings, it is important to make sure that you are approved for a mortgage for whatever your budget is. Having that pre-approval letter will definitely make any offers you make on a home that much more appealing.
Third, remember that the banks that have listed the houses are likely not going to fix them up at all. The bank owned properties are almost always sold “as is” and it takes an act of Congress to get banks to fix things in these houses; they would much rather sell to the next buyer who isn’t requesting that things be fixed in the house.
No related posts.
Tags: foreclosures, bank owned properties, whatever your budget
For less than $200,000 you can buy a business in Memphis
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Mon, Oct 12 2009 | 0 Comments
Memphis isn’t exactly known for its economic prosperity. It is, if anything, a distribution city. After spending most of my life living near the Bluff City, I can tell you that there is so much blight in that city that it can be difficult for some businesses to take off there even with the amount of wealth generated in the outlying areas.
After a short hunt on BizBuySell.com, I saw that the median asking price for a new business is just about $180,000. That’s a thirty percent drop from the previous quarter.
Why have the businesses decided to lower their asking prices? Well, it likely has something to do with the businesses having almost half of the cash flow that they did in the same period last year. The median cash flow dropped from $117,343 to $60,000. Revenues were also down from $384,000 a year ago to $368,400 for this year.
There are other cities that are having similar issues. Typically, the cost of businesses falls in line with the economic conditions of its neighboring city or town and the real estate market. Real estate values in Memphis have fallen (but to be honest, they haven’t fallen that much in some parts of the city because they weren’t very high to begin with).
Detroit is one of the cities that I have personally noticed taking a major hit in this recession. I read online a few weeks ago that the median home price in the Detroit area was somewhere near $12,000. The only reason that the home prices are so low is because the city is in disrepair and the auto companies that have held the city up for so long started to crumble to pieces this year (and they have been falling apart for some time now).
As far as the businesses in Memphis are concerned, on the BizBuySell website, the types of businesses that are listed include everything from restaurants to cleaning services.
Source
Housing Prices See an Increase In the DC Area
Financial myths debunked
Voip for your business
Tags: recession, memphis, median home price
The Pitch – Is purchasing a home still a good investment.
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Tue, Jun 02 2009 | 6 Comments
Do you think purchasing a home is still a good, solid investment?
Question:
Home prices have been hitting new lows all year and people are losing their shirts in real estate. With sub prime lending, maybe, behind us, do you think that going back into home buying is a good investment?
Answer:
Sure. Once this recession is over, homes will once again be a safe investment. Historically, homes have always been a good investment.
Right now the market is low and it is a buyers market. If you were looking into getting into the real estate market, now is the time to do it. Some markets are down far less than others and it would be a good time to get into any of the markets that have experienced a lot of decline like Phoenix, Arizona.
If I had the money to get into real estate right now, would I? Probably, but I am not really willing to be tied down to one place right now.
Have an idea or want us to use your pitch in the next issue? Then, make a submission on The Pitch Page. Related posts:
New home construction in the U.S. is up
The Pitch – Are you worried by the drop in average home price?
Tags: solid investment, next issue, investment question
