February 10, 2012

Pros and Cons of a Second Mortgage

home

Buying a home is a great way to accumulate wealth. Many homeowners often tap into their equity by taking out a second mortgage. However, when it comes to taking out a second mortgage, the risks cannot be ignored.

Second mortgages have many advantages, but they have weighty disadvantages, too. Ignoring the potential risks can be dangerous.

A second mortgage refinance is similar to your first. It’s a loan secured against your house, and the interest you pay is tax deductible. The main difference in a second mortgage occurs in the event you default on your loan. If you ever default on your loan, the lender who holds the primary mortgage is the first to receive any funds recovered from the defaulted loan. The second mortgage lender is next in line. Because second mortgages are a slightly riskier proposition for lenders, they’re generally tagged with higher interest rates.

What are the advantages of a second mortgage? If you’ve built up equity in your home, a second mortgage allows you to tap large sums of money at one time. The money can be used for home improvements, paying for college, debt consolidation, and even paying for private mortgage insurance.

What are the disadvantages of a second mortgage? All the advantages of a second mortgage can turn into a huge disaster if you fail to make your mortgage payment. Your lender could foreclose on your home if you default on the loan and your primary mortgage.

An Excellent (and Free) Resource For Real Estate Investors

The Real Estate Book is the one of the largest real estate publication of searchable listings in the world servicing over 490 locations across North America. It is the leading multi-media publisher of real estate advertising in over 400 markets across North America and is the consumers’ choice when looking for a current, free color publication showcasing homes and real estate professionals in their area. The goal of the Real Estate Book is making easy buying a home or house, home and family, home improvement or other home related topics.

Real estate bookWith more than nine million magazines distributed across the country, the magazine showcases over 150,000 homes to more than 20 million readers every month. Listings include homes for sale, international homes for sale, rental communities, and interim housing options. The Corporate Relocation Resource Center has information for thousands of communities across North America. The Real Estate Book is the consumers’ choice when looking for a current, free color publication showcasing homes and real estate professionals in their area.

If you are trying to sell your home, The Real Estate Book is the largest and most popular real estate advertising publication in North America. It is the perfect blend of print advertising and online exposure; it delivers leads, helps you get listings and builds your personal brand in one simple, easy-to-use package.

Nationally, the real estate book is the #1 free publication of real estate magazines.

Thinking about a Career in Real Estate Appraisals?

Real estate appraiser Real estate appraisal or property valuation is the process of determining the value of the property on the basis of the highest and the best use of real property. In other words, an appraiser’s duties includes determining the fair market value of the a property. The person who performs this real estate appraisal exercise is called the real estate appraiser or property valuation surveyor.

Resources for those interest in a career in real estate appraisal:

Academic Enterprises – Online appraisal licensing and appraisal continuing education. Career WebSchool is a leading source for your online appraisal classes and online appraisal continuing education courses.

Real Estate Appraisal Library at Amazon – A collection of books and resources including, How to Get Started in the Real Estate Appraisal Business and Fundamentals of Real Estate Appraisal

Refinancing Your Second Mortgage

There are many reasons why homeowners choose to refinance second mortgage. For example, refinancing can reduce mortgage payments and increase cash flow.

If you’re thinking about refinancing your mortgage debt, you have three choices: Refinance your second mortgage, refinance your first mortgage, or refinance the first and second mortgages into two new mortgages.

Refinance 2nd mortgage: This is the simplest option. If you have an adjustable-rate equity loan or line of credit, you can refinance to a fixed-rate loan, eliminate the risk of rising payments.

Refinance 1st mortgage: If you have a good rate on your second mortgage, you might consider refinancing just the first one. This process can be a tricky because paying off your first mortgage can automatically cause the second mortgage to jump into the first lien position.

Refinance 2nd and 1st mortgage into two new mortgages. Finally, you can always refinance both your first and second mortgages. If you like a dual mortgage structure and your second mortgage lender won’t allow you to refinance the first mortgage, this might be your best option.

Make sure that you shop around for quotes. www.4mortgageratequotes.com is large refinance brokerage firm and offers free, no obligation, mortgage quotes. Shopping around for the best quote is a guaranteed way to ensure that you’re getting your best possible deal.

5 Tricks to Real Estate Investing

Real estate investing is one of the most attractive ways of making good money that is also a lot of fun.Real estate investing is really an art and, like any art, it takes time to master. The key, of course, is to buy at a lower price and sell at higher price and make a profit.

Here is a list of tricks that can make real estate investing profitable for you:

1) Look for public auctions, divorce settlements and foreclosures (bank/FHA/VA): Since quick settlement is the preference here (and not price), you might get a property at a price that is much lower than the prevailing market rate. You can then make arrangements to sell it at the market rate over a short period of time. However, make sure that the property is worth the price you are paying.

2) Looking for old listings: The old listings that are still unsold may provide you with good real estate investing opportunities. Just get hold of an old newspaper and call up the sellers. They might have given up hope of selling that property at all and with a bit of negotiation you can get the property for a real low price.
3) House flipping: A really old (and dirty) looking house may scare off buyers. But this might be your chance for real estate investing that can yield good profits if you take the time to fix the property. You can get these at very low prices and make a big profit in a short time.

4) Team up with attorneys: There are a number of attorneys who handle property sales on behalf of sellers or in special circumstances (like the death of the property owner). They might sometimes be looking to dispose off the property rather quickly and hence at a low price. Be the first one to grab such real estate investing opportunities and enjoy the profits.

5) Keep tab on the newspaper announcements: Property sell offs due to deaths, divorce settlements, immediate cash requirements and other reason are frequently announced in local papers. Keep track of such real estate investing avenues.

3 Ways to Purchase Foreclosed Homes

Purchasing foreclosed homes can be a great investment opportunity for real estate investors. At the same time, it can be very risky for those who are new to the market.

Buying at Foreclosure Auctions.
Foreclosure auctions are usually generally held in the state clerk’s office or in front of the foreclosed house. You can usually get a great deal on a home with a foreclosure auction, but it poses the highest risk since the buyer cannot inspect the home in advance. The buyer must pay for the house upfront without even knowing if there is something structurally wrong with the house or if the house is in a bad neighborhood.

Buying at Real Estate Owned Auctions.
If a foreclosed home isn’t sold at an auction the bank will reposses it. The bank might want to get rid of the home, but it still is looking for a profit and won’t let go of the property cheaply. In other words, you will not always get a fantastic deal purchasing at real estate owned auctions.

However, buying at real estate owned auctions poses less of a risk since the buyer is able to arrange an inspection of the home and title insurance.

Buying pre-foreclosures.
Many real estate investors can get a great deal purchasing pre-foreclosed homes. You can find a house in pre-foreclosure by studying the public notices about homes in default or researching foreclosed listings online.

The benefit of buying homes in pre foreclosure is that there is little if any competition since it’s a private sale.

Creative Financing For Real Estate Investors

For decades, real estate investors financed a property purchase with 80-20. That is, 20 percent down, 80 percent on loan. Certainly, there have been many who put more down, but 20 percent was considered the bare minimum at the time. Today, there are many more options.

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6 Tips to Sell Your Home Quickly

So, you’ve been thinking about putting your home on the market. At the same time, you’re worried that your property won’t attract buyers. What if your house sits on the market for years? What can you do to get buyers through your door?

What ever you decide to do, here are some simple advice to help you succeed in selling your home.

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