You have heard the foreclosures market is hot these days. And you think about buying. If you have the money to buy, it is indeed a good time to buy. But if you are looking to make money out of a real estate investment, understand the law of supply and demand. It is the key to making money.

Supply-Demand Relationships in the Real Estate Market

Supply and demand relationships are always inverse. There is either a high demand in a low supply market or a low demand in a high supply market. Either way, you can take advantage of market situations to grow your investments or earn. Here is how:

Oversupply is a good time to buy. As is the case in the foreclosures market now, there is an oversupply of foreclosed properties and not too many buyers. Banks cannot afford to have these properties sitting uselessly; they need to unload the properties. This makes an excellent buying environment as the prices become relatively low.

To make a profit you will need to sell at the house at a price about ten percent below its market value if you are going to sell it under the same market conditions. Remember that you have to make buyers on the demand side want your property. True, a decrease in the supply of homes can jack up the prices. But the supply market is not something you have direct control over so you work with the demand factor.

Increasing Buyer Demand for Great Returns

You can make your property more sought-after by making it desirable. A lot of properties in the residential market for example, are well-kept, although a bit older and might need some repair. Tidy it up a bit by sprucing up the landscape, repainting the walls and doing some repair and you can put it back on the market for a quick gain. Now that is expensive, you might think. It may, if you are using your own money.

Revolutionize Your Real Estate Business

While traditional real estate investors may actually source out the funds from their own pockets, that is not the only, nor the smartest way to do it. A new and smarter strategy is to use other peoples money to finance the reconditioning costs and pocket the gain on the price difference.

The key is finding buyers for a specific property where you already have investors commit to finance the remodeling. That sounds a little tricky but if you think about it, it’s just a matter of matching needs with the right product at the right time. And the good news is, you can cut this process into a few clicks with an automated real estate system. Its not a new thing. More and more investors are discovering a great new way to doing this by taking advantage of system that puts your real estate business on autopilot.

Automation Systems now exist that actually that search for MLS for leads, evaluate property, and use technology to make offers fast so you can do more deals faster then the next investor and do them in bulk to make more profits monthly.

Find out more information about how automated internet marketing systems work, http://www.RapidOfferGenerator.com

[tags]mls gorilla, reo investing, reo goldmine, rapid offer generator, foreclosure investing[/tags]

An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) offers many benefits to investors seeking to build a growing portfolio. If you are looking for ways to build, or rebuild you investment portfolio, ETF’s should be high on your list. ETF’s are a basket of securities that track an index that measures a segment of the economy or the market. As their name implies, an Exchange Traded Fund trades like a stock on a stock exchange.

For example, you can own all the shares in the S&P 500 index through an ETF. State Street has created the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) Exchange Traded Fund that mirrors the S&P 500 index. This ETF security gives you the ability to own a piece of the S&P 500.

Maybe you prefer to invest in the technology sector. Once again, there are ETF’s that provide this capability. The Select Sector Technology SPDR (XLK) owns shares of the S&P technology index giving you exposure to this important sector of the market.

What about asset classes, such as commodities. Many investors fear investing in commodities, yet they have an informed opinion on some of these assets. Let’s say you believe that the demand for food is growing as more people throughout the world are eating better. You could buy the Powershares Commodity Trust Fund (DBA), which owns equal amounts of four important food commodities - corn, soy beans, wheat and sugar. This ETF security gives you an ability to own these commodities without worrying about taking delivery of a truck load of soybeans.

To help you understand ETF securities a little better, here are five reasons why they should be part of your securities portfolio.

1. ETF’s can be safer than stocks. Since ETF’s are a basket of underlying securities, there is less risk owning an ETF than owning one stock. Individual corporate events such as corporate scandals, poor earnings report, product liability or government investigations can cause the price of stock to plunge. ETF’s offer diversification to offset the risk of owning individual stocks.

2. ETF’s offer some advantages over mutual funds. Like index funds, ETF securities are not actively managed so they do not incur the extra costs associated with many mutual funds. Some mutual funds charge 3 or 4% of the assets each year, whether they make or lose money. ETF’s also charge a fee, though it is much lower and can be only 0.15% of the assets. That extra money goes into your pocket. In addition, with mutual funds the investors pays taxes on any gains incurred by the fund when they sell stock in their holdings. Holders of ETF’s only incur capital gains when they sell their ETF shares giving you more control over when you incur a taxable event.

3. ETF’s offer multiple asset types. Investing companies have created ETF’s for many types of assets. For example, there are ETF’s for industry sectors, commodities, currencies, emerging markets and individual countries. As a result, you can create a portfolio with exposure to multiple asset classes that take advantage of your expectations for price appreciation. In addition, these broader investing opportunities provide you additional ways to diversify your asset base.

4. ETF’s are available on the long and the short side. Most investors think of investing as buying shares of a stock expecting it to rise, so they can realize capital gains. This works well when the market is trending up. When the market is trending down, many investors are reluctant to short a stock. Now there are ETF’s that offer you a way to short the market without having to short individual stocks. You can buy these short ETF’s in anticipation that the market will trend down and participate in the fall in the market. These short ETF’s are popular with many traders, especially the ones that offer two or more times the move of the underlying index. These short ETF’s enable you participate in down trends of the stock market.

5. ETF’s are transparent. You always know what you own. ETF’s own shares of an asset based on an index such as the S&P 500. The index establishes the mix of underlying securities. ETF’s own the securities that comprise the index. As a result, you can always see what assets comprise the index. This transparency provides you additional comfort that your investment is not subject to manipulation.

ETF’s offer you greater flexibility and investing opportunities to help build your financial portfolio. Take some time to learn more about ETF’s, so you can enhance your investing results.

After beginning to invest in high school, Hans Wagner retired at 55, having gained a very good understanding how the indivual investor can succeed. I share that experience with others, so they can achieve financial independence as well. Our model portfolios at http://www.tradingonlinemarkets.com have beat the market every year.

[tags]etf’s,etf securities,exchange traded fund[/tags]

Ugly ducklings turned beauty queens are not just show business ideas that sell; they are the multi-billion dollar strategy of billionaires like Donald Trump and Warren Buffet. Trump buys run-down old lots and builds landmarks; Buffet buys ailing companies and turns them into powerhouses. The same principle works in real estate business.

The current market situation has spawned an oversupply of residential homes. That presents a lucrative market for smart real estate investors. In some areas like Southern California, there are not enough homes for the many who want to move there; this market situation makes appreciation rates rise considerably. This is already happening now. In other areas like Charlotte, North Carolina, the rental market has high vacancy rates. Rental properties are available for large discounts. These market situations make it an excellent time to apply the billionaire approach to real estate investing.

Buy the most undesirable piece of property on your market. Invest some time, money and effort to give it a makeover. If cosmetic surgery, personality coaching and diet can turn ugly ducklings into swan, a little repair here and there and general tidying up of a property can turn it into a fantastic home buyers would be running after.

Leverage Your Investments

Of course, there’s that question of funds in this approach. You can leverage your investments in two ways: You can either take out loans from the banks and to finance the renovations or you can play middleman match buyers with properties and properties with investors.

The first approach is rather difficult for small and medium-size real estate businesses. For one, banks are now tightening on loan applications. You may need to fulfill more stringent requirements to even be granted a loan. And even if you have the time to sit out the process, there’s no guarantee you’d get the loan, especially if you have not acquired the reputation as a reliable investor yet.

The second approach is the more sensible route for small firms, even individual real estate players. With the right skills, tools and connections, you don’t necessarily have to use your money to fund the makeover projects for your buyers. Savvy real estate investors mine the MLS for good deals, match buyers with properties and find financing companies, usually, bigger real estate development firms to fund the required makeover.

Although that may sound simple, the market does need skilled real estate professionals to match these three things for all parties to clinch a good deal. There are many companies looking for good investments and properties with interested buyers waiting are good investments. Buyers look for specific properties within a particular price range. You role as a real estate investor is to bring buyer, investor and property together to a closed deal where everyone, yourself included, feels like a winner at the end of the day.

Now, if you had to do that by yourself, that’s tough work. But if you had an automated real estate system you cut the chase in half. You stay a step ahead of your competition because you have all the market information tools you need to respond to leads as quickly as possible. It’s works like a 24/7 assistant.

Find more info about how automated internet marketing systems work, get is free 14 day e-course. http://www.RapidOfferGenerator.com

[tags]mls gorilla, rapid offer generator, reogoldminer, bank reo investing[/tags]

Increasingly the environment is becoming important to society, arguably being the biggest political issue of the day. While ethical businesses have existed for a long time, in recent years it seems that more and more companies and organisations are considering their impact on the planet and attempting to make amends. Whether this is due to a guilty conscience or simply an ethically-charged consumer trend is a mystery, but businesses are striving to be green and ethical these days.

Whether it’s trying to source organic compost, environmentally-friendly paint or responsible packaging, both customers and businesses are looking for ethical products, businesses, suppliers or raw materials. Even ethical investment has begun to emerge, accounting for just one per cent of retail investments, but growing rapidly.

Apparently there has been a notable growth in demand for green finance, and not necessarily because of a guilty conscience, but because ethical funds have been performing rather well. The Co-Operative Insurance’s Sustainable Leaders Fund topped the league of all company funds last year for example.

That performance is being attributed to good management, but it is also due to market conditions. As investors have become aware of climate change, companies specialising in green finance have benefited. Last year there was a bubble in solar power, until the market realised the technology was less advanced than originally anticipated, which sent the sector plunging.

Whilst companies who are pro-active about climate change might be benefiting from some over-valuation, sustainable businesses are likely to out-perform those who are less concerned about social and environmental issues, particularly over the long term.

The buzz around green issues has already given birth to some new green funds. Marks and Spencer is launching an ethical trust, designed to invest in companies making a positive contribution to the community or environment and investing in green technologies.

But investors looking to jump on the environmental bandwagon should check to make sure that the manager of a fund has the appropriate skills. New green technologies are likely to be risky and volatile.

Recently Linda McCartney’s vegetarian food empire has been put on sale by Heinz, and it looks like Swiss multi-national food group Nestle are the most likely buyers. Quite how this impacts upon the ethical nature of the meat-free meal business launched by Linda McCartney in 1991, is hard to say. Nestle has been named in the top ten most unethical firms in a study by the Fraser Consultancy.

John McE writes articles on a number of subjects including interior design. Gecco Interiors are all about environmentally-friendly interior design. If you want any eco-paint or eco-furniture, go to Gecco.

[tags]ethical business, ethical finance, ethical investment, ethical investors[/tags]

With the likely passage of the “Cap and Trade” bill, many investors are jumping on the renewable energy bandwagon. And why not. With the government about to mandate a cap-and-trade program that will drive up the cost of electricity, there are many new opportunities to capitalize on the flow of investment dollars from public and private sources. They also are looking for investment opportunities through stocks of smart grid companies.

This head long push into alternative power generation is causing investors to take a new look at the old electrical grid system. While there have been attempts to move to a market based power generation system, most of these efforts have failed to achieve their original goals.

Moreover, the electricity transmission and distribution system remains much the same and is a big problem. For example, T. Boone Pickens has announced he is curtailing his plans to build the world’s largest wind farm in West Texas. Part of the reason is the lack of adequate transmission lines to carry electricity from the remote wind sites to cities. This is where a smart grid investment program makes sense for investors.

This old electrical grid system is designed to distribute power from consistent generation facilities that are close by. Building large wind farms in West Texas requires a way to move that power to urban areas that need it.

What happens if the wind stops blowing during the hottest days of the summer? Our current electrical grid system is ill suited to handle the variability of new sources of electrical power.

Solving the transition to new power sources is only half the battle. After generating the power, you need to distribute it to where it is needed at the right time, in the right amounts and at a lower cost.

You can make an interesting comparison with the current electrical grid and communications network. If Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, were to come back today, he would not recognize the modern day communication system with digital based internet and wireless networks with their cell phones, Web 2.0, YouTube and Twitter. On the other hand, if Thomas Edison were to return, he would readily recognize our electrical transmission and distribution scheme, as he was one of the grid’s earliest architects. While it has grown significantly, the basic design remains the same.

The Smart Grid is the conceptual answer to the vast changes needed to adapt the current electrical system to one that is more efficient, adaptable, and capable of handling the variability of the sources of power while helping customers use electricity more efficiently. Like the evolution of the internet and the dotcom boom and bust, this is a huge opportunity with many unknown risks.

According to Cisco, the smart grid offers major investment opportunities that are bigger than the internet for those prepared to take advantage of them. Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE believes the Smart Grid will be the biggest investment of the first half of the 21st century. President Obama is counting on investments by the government and companies in the smart grid to help the United States release it from its dependence on foreign oil.

According to a 2009 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers, $2 trillion will need to be invested in our electric infrastructure by 2030. The Brattle Group estimates that it will take $1.5 trillion to between 2010 and 2030 to pay for the upgrades necessary for the additional infrastructure for tomorrow’s electrical system.

These investments will take place throughout the electrical grid, in the home, in buildings, on campuses, neighborhoods in cities and across continents.

Already we are seeing a few of these improvements. Some homes have smart meters that track electricity use in detail, providing the information to utilities. Eventually, homeowners will be able to access this data so they can make adjustments in their power consumption. The cost of these meters is quite high and is passed on to consumers. The hope is that once consumers have access to the information on their electricity usage, they will take steps to cut their consumption of electricity offsetting the cost.

This raises the question whether there is a cost-benefit trade off from many of the investments to achieve the goal of a smart grid. Many people equate the smart grid to the growth of the internet. Much like the investment that came with the growth of the internet, there were some that provided valuable benefits. Others never paid off.

I suspect we will see many smart grid investments experience the same fate. For example, as reported by the WSJ on APRIL 27, 2009, the home smart meters cost $250 to $500 per installed device. At this price, it is not clear if the meters will provide sufficient benefit to cover their costs.

The parallel to investing in the internet is an interesting analogy. The big winners were able to attach themselves to the “killer application” that drove business to them. However, there were many losers who failed to achieve their promise. Finally, those who provide many of the components and installed the infrastructure did well, even if they were not big winners.

OK, what is the killer application of the smart grid? The best definition I found for a killer app comes from Net Return Investiments, “A new good or service that establishes an entirely new category and by being first dominates it creating an enormous return on the initial investment”. Some people believe the smart grid killer app will be the electric plug in car. Not sure, that meets the definition very well.

Anyone remember the smart home? It has been trying to get off the ground for a number of years. This was another idea some put forward that has not received much success, as the payoff has been hard to generate.

There is a number of start-up and established smart grid companies creating products for this market. Smart grid stock pure plays such as Comverge (COMV)), RuggedCom (RCM.TO) and EnerNOC (ENOC) all became public in the second quarter of 2007. Some very large companies like GE, Honeywell, Cisco, and Google have smart grid offerings. Keep in mind, the size of their smart grid services is relatively small when compared to their total sales.

Companies that provide and install many of the components of a smart grid should offer good returns; much like the companies who sold picks and shovels to the miners. Stocks of smart grid companies like ABB Ltd (ABB), Siemens A.G., and GE are likely to benefit as electric utilities build the new infrastructure for the smart grid.

One way to approach this market is through an ETF that holds stocks in a smart grid fund. The Cleantech Index CTIUS, created by The Cleantech Group LLC is the basis for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that hold smart grid stocks in the PowerShares Cleantech Portfolio ETF (AMEX: PZD) and the KSM Cleantech ETF in Israel. The index includes large companies like ABB and Siemens as well as smaller firms like Vestas Wind systems (VWS.CO), Itron (ITRI), Trimble Navigation (TRMB) and RuggedCom (RCM.TO). These ETFs hold stocks of companies that focus on clean technology, not just smart grid companies.

Investing in smart grid stocks will offer exceptional opportunities. It will also create substantial losses for those who do not tread carefully. While it is tempting to bet on what will be the killer app for the smart grid, a more conservative strategy is to focus on the companies that can show real cost benefit from their products or services and who generate positive cash flow.

After beginning to invest in high school, Hans Wagner retired at 55, having gained a very good understanding how the indivual investor can succeed. I share that experience with others, so they can achieve financial independence as well. Our model portfolios at http://www.tradingonlinemarkets.com have beat the market every year.

[tags]smart grid, smart grid investing, smart grid companies, smart grid stocks, smart grid investment pro[/tags]

Buying property abroad has been a preferred investment opportunity for many people living in the United Kingdom. As well as being a source of income through holiday lettings, these properties are often a second home to some. We give advice on why when investing in apartments, Italy offers a great return on investment.

Not only is Italy famed for is olive groves, fine foods and spectacular wine, it is also considered one of the finest places for architecture. From apartments to cathedrals, the architecture in Italy is built to be pleasing to the eye and to blend in with historical surroundings. If purchasing apartments in Italy to let out for holidays, target well known retreats such as Tuscany, Abruzzo and Umbria. These areas are renowned for arts, culture and speciality cuisine that has been developed over many centuries from local farm produce, something tourists can’t wait to taste.

Tuscany has been mentioned in many travel stories, and often in nostalgic novels. The region is in northern Italy, and it’s capital, Florence is a popular tourist destination. Apartments in Florence reflect the influence of the renaissance period with lavish and intricate architecture. With a rich history of fine art and culture, tourists flock to the city in their thousands to experience a wealth of cultural events.

Abruzzo lies on the eastern coast of Italy and its close proximity to Rome makes it an ideal place to purchase holiday apartments. Italy attracts visitors who want to soak up the Mediterranean sun as well as explore the historical sites. Holiday apartments that offer access to the beach and are close to public transport systems are increasingly popular as tourists turn their back on package holidays in favour of bespoke breaks. Abruzzo has a plethora of hill towns that reflect a medieval past as well as connections to renaissance architecture, all of which are popular with visitors to Italy.

Umbria lies in the centre of Italy surrounded by rolling hills and home to some of the most beautiful religious buildings in the country. Hill towns are a haven for tourists who come to the region to seek sanctuary and explore Italian history. Although not the most popular place to purchase apartments for holiday lettings, many investors choose the region as a place for a second home, a calm retreat. Umbria is less crowded than its neighbour Tuscany, but still has easy access to popular tourist destinations.

Dom Donaldson is a property expert.
Find out more about why when purchasing Apartments Italy is a favourite investment location at Real Italia.

[tags]Apartments Italy, Italian property, property in Italy, italian real estate[/tags]

The real estate market is a profitable niche that has changed the lives of many over the last six years. Virtual real estate is a growing phenomenon that grants investors a chance to use virtual space as a means for wealth; you are not responsible for maintenance, it’s easy to market for new tenants, and people are filling up homes/apartments every day. Your only responsibility is to make sure the tenants are suitable for the homes you offer online.

If you’ve ever considered entering real estate, you should think about what’s out there for anyone tapping into the virtual real estate game that encourages growth through profits. You may be an inexperienced investor, but you can make your mark with a simple sign up in the system. Everyone has a sense of entrepreneurship in their veins; learn how to take control of your financial position by learning the ins and outs of real estate investing from home - then take it to the streets.

New Opportunities

Real life real estate has shown many there is money to be made - the virtual real estate games are doing the same with less stress. The opportunities surfacing include apartment complexes, condos, and town homes. Look around your city to see how many people live in these kinds of places. Homes are the most influential aspects of a tenants lifestyle; the consequences of not encouraging them to live on your property, you lose out on rent.

The virtual real estate game is there for a reason - to help couples and individuals with SIMS or Second Life characters to find a suitable home. You can market properties, encourage others to talk about you, or sit back, and wait for applicants to ask for more information on prices. You can also buy low then sell high just like in real life. All of the profits come to you to reinvest or withdraw from your account upon your discretion. Does this seem fun? Image the lack of paperwork and stress involved.

Less Paperwork & Stress

Less paperwork and stress means more time to build your business. Just as in any business, you must start with a plan to work towards your goals. No one makes an impact on their first try; you have to take in the moments, opportunities, and work your way up the ladder. Never underestimate the power of planning a real estate investing business - it can help you take your properties with a purpose then gain all of the benefits. Savvy virtual real estate game investors are benefiting from their plans right now - they are pocketing hundreds of dollars per month from making smart decisions.

The whole aspect of real estate investing is to find properties suitable for tenants. Even in the virtual real estate game, you have to be considerate of your tenants. Do you want couples? Do you prefer singles? Do you want your tenant to have a job in the virtual world? All of these questions need to be answered before allowing someone to move into an apartment, condo, or town home. It’s your property and it’s your money - make each decision count.

I enjoy dealing with real estate, investing for my future and I also like to deal with Virtual Estate Properties as well.
http://www.simrealestategame.com

[tags]mortgage,home mortgage,mortgage loans,mortgage loan,mortgage rates,[/tags]

UK’s families are worse off by 17 per cent after twelve months of sliding house prices and the collapse of the stock market.This fall is the highest for at least 40 years.

On average each household’s wealth has fallen 45,000 pounds because the both the values of their homes and investments in shares, savings and pensions have crashed during the start of the recession. This is equivalent to 20,000 pounds for each individual.

During the last decade household wealth doubled before the recession took hold. So the current downturn has severely dented consumer confidence and the so called “wealth affect” - the confidence people have in their spending power resulting from their perception of what their assets are worth. This plunge in confidence is having a clear affect on retail spending and investment. In fact during last year, the FTSE 100 Index fell by 31 per cent and in the first two months of this current year the Index fell a further 15 per cent slashing value from people’s investment portfolios and pension funds.

Meanwhile savers have been afflicted by falling interest rates as the Bank of England’s base rate fell from 5 per cent in October to 0.5 per cent by early Spring the following year. This has been particularly disastrous for pensioners.

And we all know about what has happened in the property market. Prices have fallen 17.8 per cent in the last 12 months and in January only 56,000 house changed hands compared with 144,000 in the same month two years before. And only 9,000 first time buyers entered the housing market in January - the lowest level for 35 years.

But worse may be yet around the corner for homeowners. Bankers have warned that property prices could yet fall by another 55 per cent before prices bottom out.

Until the banking sector has got it’s house in order and lending confidence returns, property prices will undoubtedly languish. Recovery will not arrive until the bank’s self imposed credit restrictions are relaxed and the housing market gets the funding it needs to recover. The only good news at that time, will be that houses will far more affordable for first time buyers and for those that have accumulated enough for a deposit, home ownership will beckon.

At that time, the Bank of England will have to carefully steer the housing market. With years of frustrated pent up demand, if mortgage funding is fully released we could see prices spiral upwards like a demented rocket. That would not be in the nation’s interests. When it comes, we need a mild steady recovery in property prices otherwise before we know it, we could be back to the mess we were in 2 years ago (and, some would argue, are still in now!)

Are your finances in a mess and you are increasingly worried about the amount of debts that you have accumulated. Promise can help. Promise will show you how to manage your debts. Visit Promise Debt Solutions to get an Online Debt Plan

[tags]Property,wealth,mortgage,cost[/tags]

People are very interested in buying real estate in the United States today. The current economic crunch that has its grips on the country are making a real estate investment a very smart economical move. If you are thinking of joining the thousands of other people who are grabbing up real estate across the United States, give Charlotte North Carolina a good hard look.

Charlotte is a beautiful city. It is located on the southern Piedmont of the state along the border with South Carolina. Getting to Charlotte is very easy from anywhere as this city is nicknamed the “international gateway to the South”. Over half of the population of the entire United States is within a two hour flight from Charlotte. There is a saying that says that visitors only need to go and visit the “Queen City” once. Do you know why? Because many first time visitors to Charlotte ending up moving here, they were so impressed with this great city after just one visit. Charlotte is rich in culture, offers colorful cityscapes and has a unique cosmopolitan character all its own.

Charlotte NC has an architecturally-striking skyline at first glance and the city is under construction as you are reading this. Living in Charlotte is a joy with the lovely southern charm the city offers amidst its big city style.

Charlotte is an outstanding choice to purchase real estate. Past the skyline of the United State’s second leading financial center are Charlotte’s visually stunning and very historical neigborhoods. You can take a leisurely stroll through streetcar era neighborhoods where the architecture ranges from old factories to outstanding estates. There are boutiques and restaurants scattered all over this grand city, so you will never be at a loss for things to do in Charlotte.

Charlotte NC is the 18th largest city in the United States and boasts over 1,700,000 people living in the metropolitan area. Charlotte has lovely weather year round with temperatures averaging 32 degrees in January and the summer months are perfect for spending time at the many beaches around Charlotte.

The time is perfect to purchase real estate in Charlotte as the Uptown area is undergoing massive reconstruction including building new banks and several condos. New residences are being constructed in the city limits and the Metropolitan-a mixed use project, has just recently been completed near Carolinas Medical Center. Charlotte is constantly growing.

Charlotte is very ‘family friendly’ with offerings such as the U.S. National Whitewater Center, Lazy 5 Ranch and Carowinds. All of these wonderful places are built so you and the kids can enjoy your own private safari or ride a heart pounding rollercoaster.

Charlotte is a city with so much to offer that it would literally take hours to list all the reasons why this city is an ideal place to purchase real estate. Charlotte NC is a city that is warm and welcoming, big city in looks and small town in feel. There is no city in the country that can compare to Charlotte.

The Wierman Group are professional wholesalers who find bargain rehab property in North Carolina that are far below market value for investors. If you would like to know more about the system we use visit:http://www.charlottencrehabdeals.com/

[tags]rehab deals, bargain property, investment property,[/tags]

I got back from Thailand in May where I made history as the first woman to be head coach for a USA Weightlifting men’s team! I went to Thailand to coach the men’s team for the First Youth World Championship. But I missed the Monroe county Judicial tax sale, which took place on May 20th. I did send my husband, Bill to cover the tax sale for me and find out how many properties sold and what they sold for. I wanted to see just what the trend was this year and I wanted to be able to pass that information along to you.

Here’s the information that he brought back to me from the sale. First of all out of the 403 properties that were on the list, only 52 were taken off the list before the sale because they paid, went into bankruptcy, or were postponed. Out of the properties that were left a very large percentage did not sell at the sale. Only 100 properties sold. The most that was paid for a property was $160,000, but many properties were sold for the minimum bid. Only a handful of properties sold for over $10,000.

It seems that though the sale was well attended, there were fewer properties sold this year and for lower amounts. There are a couple of factors that contributed to the outcome of this year’s judicial tax sale in Monroe County. Many investors that were heavily invested in real estate are now cash poor. When you purchase property at a tax sale in Pennsylvania, you need to pay in certified funds on the day of the sale. In Monroe County you’re given one hour to pay for the properties that you bid on in certified funds. If you do not pay in the time allowed the property is re-bid and you are barred from participating in future sales - this is not a good thing and is to be avoided! It is not as easy to borrow money as it was even a year ago, and many investors are sitting on property that they cannot sell in this market and they cannot get their cash out.

Another reason that many properties did not sell in this year’s tax sale is that people are being more cautious on their spending, especially on raw land. It is not easy to sell real estate right now and you generally cannot make money on land until you sell it. Builders are having a hard time in today’s real estate market, so they are not buying land. On the contrary, many of them are selling off the empty lots that they own in an effort to raise cash.

I did not investigate all of the land that was for sale in this auction, though I did look at a couple of building lots that were in the sale. The lots that I looked at were in a development in a municipality close to where I live. The problem with these lots is that they are in a mountainous area near a ski slope. A couple of the lots I looked at looked like they would be good building lots, but a couple were on severe grades that you could not build on without spending some significant money on excavation. None of the lots that I looked at sold at the tax sale.

I think it’s good that bidders are being more cautious when it comes to spending money on raw land. Remember that when you purchase property at a tax sale, your purchase is none refundable and you still have to record the deed and pay realty transfer fees (these fees are added at the time of the sale). And you have to clear the title to the property before you can sell it. All in all, there will be more available on the repository list this year, when it’s available sometime after July 1st. Maybe this year, unlike the past few years, there will actually be something good left over.

Joanne Musa is a tax lien investing consultant who helps investors from all over the world to develop a profitable tax lien or tax deed portfolio. Joanne provides detailed information on how to start building your own profitable portfolio of tax lien certificates or tax deeds and video and audio training on the Members Area of TaxLienLady.com. Get a free 30-day trial to the Members Area of TaxLienLady.com at http://budurl.com/30daytrial.

[tags]tax sales,tax liens,tax deeds,tax lien expert[/tags]