How to Calculate Rental Returns

Property Investment - How to Calculate Rental Returns

By Timothy Wright 

Before purchasing an investment property for rental purposes it's always a good idea to calculate whether it will be cash flow positive or cash flow negative. That is, will the property generate an income (positive) or will it require a monthly cash injection (negative)?

This article will outline and briefly describe many of the main Purchasing and Annual Holding Costs incurred when buying a rental property. Please keep in mind that these items will vary from country to country and they do not take into account personal tax implications.

Purchasing Costs

Purchase price - the agreed price for which the property will exchange hands.

Renovation Costs - money budgeted for renovations prior to the property been made available for rental.

Agents Fees - in some countries it is common practice for the buyer to pay some or all of the real estate 

 agent's selling fees/commission. However, in most cases these fees are paid by the vendor.

Stamp duty - a duty placed on the purchase of a property charged by the local government for the registration of the property into the new owner's name.

Mortgage Application Fees - charged by lenders upon application to secure a loan to buy the property.

Travel Expenses - flights, car hire, and hotel costs incurred when travelling to personally inspect a property.

Solicitors Fees - payable to the solicitor for all of the relevant legal work for the transfer of the property.

Research - books, local suburban reports purchased to research a suburb.

Accountants Fees - the property may be purchased in the name of a Trust or Company. There may also be a crossover here with the solicitor's fees.

Council Rates Cutover - A vendor may have paid rates up to a time after the transfer of the property. The amount is then split between the buyer and vendor on a pro-rata basis.

Independent valuation / Engineers Report - a vendor may choose to pay for their own independent valuation or engineers report to highlight areas of concern.

Miscellaneous - this will include postage, telephone calls etc. It's also worthwhile to include a contingency should some of the above costs be more than anticipated.

Annual Holding Costs

Mortgage Repayment - payable to the mortgage lender to repay the loan used to purchase the property.

Property Management Fees - if a professional property manager is appointed they will either charge a percentage of rent or a monthly flat fee.

Council/Municipal Rates - charged for collection of waste and upkeep of local services. Sometimes these are paid by the tenant.

Maintenance - costs for repairs and maintenance on the property and it's fixtures and fittings.

Bank Fees - account keeping fees charged by the bank.

Landlord Insurance - protection against theft, damage, non-payment of rent, legal costs.

Letting Fees - some property managers may charge a letting fee for finding new tenants.

Pest Control - protection against pests and termites.

Cleaning - the property may require a thorough professional clean in preparation for new tenants.

Travel Expenses - incurred when visiting the property at times such as showing it to potential tenants or collecting rent.

Local Income Tax - may be charged by some local governments for the rental profits after any allowable deductions.

Land Tax - an annual tax on the value of the land on which the rental property is built.

Accountants Fees - payable for the administration of legal structures if a property is owned by a Trusts or Company.

Miscellaneous - again, this will include a contingency should some of the above costs be more than anticipated.

Once all of these costs have been factored into your calculations you will be able to determine whether a property will be cash flow positive or not.

In closing, it is imperative that you seek professional legal advice before you make any investment. This will clarify the process according to your own personal situation and the county you are investing in.

Happy investing!

Tim Wright is a property investor and 'Green' renovator. For more information check out Greenscape Homes [http://www.greenscapehomes.com.au]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Timothy_Wright

No Money Down Real Estate Investing

No Money Down Real Estate Investing

By Lou Castillo 

If you really want to make a wealth of money in real estate you must learn to leverage a small amount of your resources to control a lot of property. One of the techniques I like to use is Subject To financing.

Although some states are attempting to pass legislation to regulate or ban this practice, it is still one of the best ways to easily finance a purchase. My advice is to check with a local attorney to verify if laws have been passed in your state relative to purchasing Subject To the existing mortgage.

What makes Subject To financing so powerful is the ability to take title (ownership) to a piece of property while leaving the existing financing in place. In other words, ownership passes to the Buyer, but the loan remains in the name of the Seller, or more precisely, in the name of the original Borrower. You can easily see why this is such a powerful tool: you can fund most or all of the purchase price of a home with the loan that is already in place! The buyer simply makes up the past due payments to bring the loan current, and commits to the Seller to make on time payments in the future, but does not need to secure new financing.

What about the due-on-sale clause that most mortgages contain today? It's true. The lender does have the right to call the loan due - but NOT the obligation to do so. In fact, it doesn't make sense for a bank, an institution that is in the money business, to call a performing loan due and risk forcing it into foreclosure. After all, a bank would rather have the on-time payments than the real estate.

What about the Seller? Why would they agree to placing their credit at risk? Since the loan remains in their name, they remain financially responsible. A motivated Seller however, is desperate to eliminate the responsibility for payments. They're usually facing foreclosure. You're offering the opportunity to remove the burden, AND at the same time improve their credit rating with on-time payments made in their name.

Are you currently using this powerful technique in your real estate business? Unless your state prohibits it, Subject To financing should become one of your first options for the purchase of investment properties. The bank benefits by having the loan payments caught up and current. The Seller benefits from debt relief and credit improvement. And best of all, you benefit by leveraging a small amount of money to finance your real estate transactions.

Best of Success & Abundance,

Lou Castillo

Lou Castillo has been successfully investing in real estate since the early 1990s with a focus on rehabbing and wholesaling single family residences. He is also a national speaker and trains other investors on his model for investing and for leveraging the power of the internet.

For more information or to sign up for his Powerful Investing Tips visit http://www.Investorriches.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lou_Castillo

Real Estate Investing - Don't Just GET THE DEED - The Infamous "Kitchen Table Closing"

Real Estate Investing - Don't Just GET THE DEED - The Infamous "Kitchen Table Closing"

By Lou Castillo 

Q: Hi Lou, I have a property under contract that I want to resell/flip as-is to a rehabber/renovator, but I may have to purchase it quickly and simply record the Quit Claim Deed, without using a closing attorney or waiting for a title exam. I need your advice.

The seller just called me and left a msg on my voice mail stating she did not want to sell to me because she received a better offer. Now I do have it under contract, with a signed purchase and sales agreement from her, and I had her sign a Quit Claim deed, too. I did that because she was fighting with her sister over ownership of this property, which was given to her by her mom who passed away 2 years ago. The deed is in her name alone, not the sister's, moms or anyone else. I did see the deed and made a copy of it.

So, I thought I should get the Quitclaim deed, just in case I needed to record the deed because of the family issues, and she agreed as well. She said she just wanted to get rid of this property. I also filed at the court house an Affidavit for the property showing I had it under contract, as you all recommended. I'm in the process of getting a title check done by title company.

Now what do you recommend I do? Should I go back to the court house and record the Quitclaim deed or wait until the title search is done and record the deed, or walk away, or what? If I chose to wait and schedule an attorney to do the closing, would they except the title search done by the title company?

Thank you, G.

A: Hi G., what you're describing is a little risky, yet it's done pretty often. It's a VERY good idea to get title exam run first, before doing a "kitchen table closing" and getting a Quitclaim Deed (QCD) from Seller, if you're not using/hiring a closing attorney to do a formal closing....

Normally we wouldn't recommend you do your own closing, but since you're rushing your purchase so you can "preserve" your deal before the other Buyer moves in and buys it, and/or before the sister does anything rash.... just be sure that the transaction has been up front, and that you truly intend to move forward as you agreed. I think that I would go ahead and file/record the QCD. I don't see that you have anything to lose, and a lot to gain.

I would let the seller know that she can not sell to someone else because she already has a binding agreement to sell to you, and you already "technically" own the house (since you recorded the QCD), and that your plan is to review the deal like you had already agreed with her, and if you decide not to do the regular closing as described in your Purchase & Sale Agreement, then you will release the house (ie YOU'D have to sign and record another QCD, canceling the prior QCD from her to you) for her to sell to whomever she likes.

It was great that you already recorded your "Affadavit of Contract", putting yourself into the chain of title, showing that you have a contract to buy the house. Now if all of this "blows up" and you're not able to, or choose not to record the QCD for some reason, the Affadavit you recorded will protect you, and allow you to still purchase the house in the future (if the Seller tries to sell to someone else or tries to refinance the house).

By filing the QCD you become the official owner of the property. No one can take the deal away from you. Since you're buying it "subject-to" any loans, you will need to start making the payments on any loans (call the lenders to get a "statement of account" to make sure there are no surprise back payments or penalties you're "inheriting"). I'm assuming you gave her no/low equity/cash at this point, so you don't have any funds invested, or at risk with the seller. Now you've got time to evaluate all the financials and make an informed decision. If in the end, you do not want it, you can always Quit Claim the property back to the current owner, as you told her earlier.

**Note to all my fellow investors : you don't want to even play this "kitchen table closing" game, unless you have a strong indication that this is a good deal and you're 90% sure you're going to go all the way with this deal. Taking ownership via a quick recording of a QCD, and then bouncing ownership back to the original seller with another QCD later when you've "had a chance" to do your due diligence - is not a cool game to play. We're only walking through it in this example, because the investor is trying to rush to protect his good deal from being "sold again" fraudulently, by the seller to another buyer.

But you also don't want to suddenly own a property where you have some potentially unknown, overlooked liens that may be attached to the house, that you'd have to pay off before you re-sold or refinanced the house, and no ability to insure yourself via title insurance,. So consider these 3 risks you've got with a "get the deed, kitchen table closing" --

1) You probably won't have the Seller sign the standard "Owners affadavit" and "Gap affadavit" that attorneys use, where the seller warrants that no other "bad stuff, liens, judgements, etc." exist against him or the property, other than what the title examiner has found.. AND even though Seller signs those Affadavits, we've had some sign knowing they're lying and committing fraud. Title insurance would cover you, if Seller lied, but you can't get that (see #3).

2) title examiners are human and make mistakes and overlook title stuff (liens, judgements) b/c they get too busy, too tired, etc.

3) You CAN'T get owner's title insurance to cover all of the above issues if you close the deal yourself at a "kitchen table", because an attorney at a closing can sell that policy to you and you DO need to buy one.

We have had several instances where either the seller has lied about other not-yet-filed judgements and loans (see #1), or title examiner has missed a significant lien during the title exam (see #2) and we've been covered by our title insurance policies.

If you have those types of title problems and NO title ins. policy, you've got to pay all the legal fees and/or pay off the liens, etc. before you can re-sell the property. Soooo, unless you're a serious gambler :-) close with an attorney so you can get the Seller to sign the 2 Affadavits and get yourself an Owner's Title Insurance policy.

And yes, about 50% of the time attorneys will buy a previously done (must be within last 30 days usually) title exam and use it for the closing--just ask your attorney in advance.

Now, if the new Buyer stills wants the property, they can buy it directly from you. The current homeowner, is of course, going to be upset and is probably going to say you did something illegal.

Q: Can the title company issue a Limited Warranty Deed, if not who provides a limited Warranty Deed that I have seen other wholesaler issue to the rehabbers?

A: The closing attorney can fill out a Limited Warranty Deed on your behalf as the seller (when you resell the property), saying basically that you warrant that ownership of the property was "valid" during the *limited* time period that you owned the house.

Best of success & abundance,

Lou Castillo

Lou Castillo has been successfully investing in real estate since the early ‘90’s. Castillo was on his way up the corporate ladder until he recognized that real estate offered a greater opportunity for financial freedom, and for the lifestyle he desired. Lou has a knack for developing powerful & proven systems that work in real estate and has authored more than 7 books and courses on the subject.

For more information, visit http://www.Investorriches.com or sign up for his Powerful Investing Tips at http://www.Freerealestatestrategies.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lou_Castillo

Real Estate Investing - Take The Guess Work Out Of Your Wholesale Property Purchases

Real Estate Investing - Take The Guess Work Out Of Your Wholesale Property Purchases

By Lou Castillo 

We have become very concerned by the number of readers writing to us asking how to determine which are the wholesalers(*) that can be trusted. Why are we concerned? Because when we dig a little deeper, we realize that they are buying properties based solely on the recommendation of the wholesaler. They're guessing which ones to trust, and which houses to buy. That's a dangerous way to do business.

Are we saying that most wholesalers will take advantage of you? Of course not. We believe in wholesaling. We wholesale many deals ourselves every year. Frankly, the majority of wholesalers are honest, and try to provide data that is as accurate as possible. The problem is twofold: first, wholesalers are sales people and present deals in the best light possible. The Buyers still need to do their due diligence to make sure the deal works for them. Second, wholesalers can only provide what the average renovator may incur as expenses. 

Your individual, specific expenses in any given deal may be higher or may be lower. It also depends on what exit strategy you're planning. That's why two investors can analyze the same deal, and one decide that it works great, and the other decide there's no profit. Both views may be correct since everyone's individual costs vary.

When you purchase any property, you have to calculate your own specific costs to determine if it is a good deal FOR YOU. It could be a great deal for many investors, but not for you. Only you can make that determination. Conversely, other people may have to pass on a deal that you, because you may have better resources available, will jump on the opportunity.

You also have to evaluate the After Repaired Value yourself. We still hear buyers talking about getting an appraisal to determine the value. An appraisal is a tool for the lender - NOT for the investor. Appraisals are an art, not a science. We could bring three appraisers to a property, and get three different values.

Therefore, it's up to you to do your homework and figure out the right value. The question is: "What will this house sell for when the rehab is complete?" You obviously do not want to use as a comp the one home that sold significantly higher than all of the others. But by the same token, don't use the lowest values either - you'll never buy a house. We use the highest price cluster of similar homes we find in the area as our comps. This is the most realistic version of what you can expect in the marketplace. We do not under-value the property making it impossible to buy deals; nor do we over-value the property potentially resulting in no profit.

Use the information the wholesaler provides you as a guide to determine which deals to pursue, but then do your own due diligence. Determine your own specific costs, and determine your own property values. Don't guess whose numbers are correct. In the long run, you'll be much more successful as an investor.

(*) Wholesalers are investors who market extensively to attract motivated sellers, get the property under contract, then sell the deal to other investors who will fix up the property and re-sell to owner-occupants.

Best of success & abundance,

Lou Castillo

Lou Castillo has been successfully investing in real estate since the early ‘90’s. Castillo was on his way up the corporate ladder until he recognized that real estate offered a greater opportunity for financial freedom, and for the lifestyle he desired. Lou has a knack for developing powerful & proven systems that work in real estate and has authored more than 7 books and courses on the subject.

For more information, visit http://www.Investorriches.com or sign up for his Powerful Investing Tips at http://www.Freerealestatestrategies.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lou_Castillo