Discover the Power of the Flat Rate Realty Group Blog: Your Ultimate Guide

Room rentals? Why would you want to make your home into a boarding house? Maybe you shouldn't. I enjoyed having people living in my house, and most of them became friends. On the other hand, you might not like that arrangement. I hated being a landlord when I owned rentals that were not my home. Each of us is different.

Consider Your Room Rental Options

You don't necessarily have to live with the room-renters, so consider all the options available. You could do any of the following:

1. Rent rooms in your own home and share common space with the renters. This is what I did for several years when I was single, and it worked fine for me.

2. Partition your home so you can rent rooms without sharing common space. You'll need at least two bathrooms, and separate entrances to make this work.

3. Include an efficiency apartment for yourself, so you can have privacy, maybe sharing a laundry room with the renters. This is what we did at the time I got married. It also opened up one my former bedroom, increasing the rental income as sufficient to pay for the new apartment in less than a year.

4. Buy a house just to rent it out by the room. This can be an excellent way to get cash flow out of homes that might not otherwise be such good investments.

5. Sublet a room in the apartment you rent. That is if it is okay with the landlord, it can be a means to have the funds for a better apartment, or to get past monetary hard times.

6. Use room rentals as a way to have the funds for a house payment. In case you are having issues buying a home for the reason that you can't manage to pay, you can buy a home with additional rooms and rent them out.

Consider the Money In Renting Rooms

The money you can charge for rent will differ significantly in different parts of the country. Here is what a mobile home in a small town in Denver, Colorado (couple years back):

Small Bedroom: $65 weekly multiply by 52 weeks equals $3380 per year.

Medium Bedroom: $75 weekly multiply 52 weeks equals $3900 per year.

Large Bedroom: $85 weekly multiply by 52 weeks equals $4420 per year.

Possible Annual Income (I often had a couple weeks opening): $11,700 per year.

This was a home that I lived in, don’t forget. I added all utilities in the rent, and I tracked my expenses carefully. Including the refrigerator, repairing the heating system, and roof, as well as garbage collection, utilities, cable television, property taxes, local phone service and insurance, my costs the last year I had the house, was $3,900 (I had already paid off the $253/month mortgage).

How do you find out a profit when you live in the home? Renting rooms in my home perhaps added $300 or so to the annual costs. Heating was almost the same cost, as was taxes, garbage collection, insurance, cable television, and phone service. A bit more and tear and a little more electricity were the only real additional costs. In other words, almost all the extra income was profit. Or if you want to view it in another direction, I lived for free and had $7800 income from the home I lived in.

Do you want to have thousands of dollars of extra income every year? What would you do with that money? Think about that, and you have the answer to why you should rent rooms.

Online blogs offer news or commentary on a particular topic like sports, music, news, or interest. Many online blogs function more as personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The capability for readers to comments on your blog in an interactive way is a major part of various blogs. Most blogs are mainly textual, although some emphasize on photos, audio podcasting, videos, or all joined together.

Several realtors or real estate investors who have business or properties can make use of blogs to interact with their readers or build a community of readers who are interested in their subject matter. In case you are a realtor who focuses on condos you can blog about condos and if you are a wholesale investor who sells fixer uppers you can talk about fixer uppers and increase your knowledge. Some of your blog posts can contain your projects or listings that you are working on. You can subtly ask your blog readers about interest in your real estate inventory. By giving quality knowledge in your field you gain trust among your readers and perhaps a possible buyer.

Blogs are inexpensive compared to the cost of creating a website. Many blogs are free or have a low monthly fee to maintain. The most popular blog platforms available are blogger and WordPress blogs. Both of them are easy to use and update. Blogs are search engine friendly as well so it will also help in getting you found easier online.

Here are few things you can do with a blog:

·         Post real estate tips and information every day to your readers.

·         Share your real estate knowledge and become the go-to blog for valuable information in your market.

·         Search Engines like to spider Blogs since the content is fresh always and continually being updated!

·         There are a lot of directories dedicated to Blogs online. Some directories let you to “Ping” them when you add new content to keep their directories update to date.

·         Have your visitors subscribe to your blog by putting a subscribe button on your blog so that visitors who are interested can get informed when you post.

·         Use Google Adsense to get added income from PPC targeted advertisers.

·         Have your blog provide RSS feeds and Podcast feeds of your posts.

·         Place links to important information from your websites like your listings or your contact information.

·         The important social and interactive aspect of blogs is its ability for visitors to post comments on your post. Building dialogue shows your reader you are a live person behind the blog.

·         You don’t need to be a coder or programmer to start a blog. For the most part, it is very user-friendly and easy to start one up.

·         You can customize the design and layout of most blogs to cater for the look and feel of your business brand.

If you haven’t noticed blogs are here to remain in cyberspace. If your business doesn’t have a Blog you need to start planning on getting one running now. Any business looking to create a social presence in web 2.0 should have one.

There are periods when it is good for an individual to rent, but most times owing a home has many more advantage and benefits. 

Roughly 10 years back I had an aunt and uncle who retired and rented a condo in Las Vegas. Uncle Jim (pseudonym, anyway that's what I'll call him) was a retired minister. During his career, he and his wife stayed in parsonages, which are homes given by the congregation while they ministered there. 

Uncle Jim and his wife expressed that the biggest error they ever made was not to buy any house as an investment. In the year they retired, when their other friends who retired were staying in homes that were practically paid off and had appreciated much, he and his wife were using a huge part of their little retirement money to pay expensive condo rent. They strongly warned me not to make the same mistake they made.

Latest studies are showing that there are many advantages for both the community and the owners for owning your own home, as well as increased education for children, a higher lifetime annual income for children and lower teenage pregnancy rate. Asides these, below are some of the major advantages of owning your own house.

More Stable Housing Costs

Rent payments can normally rise every year and very unpredictable but most mortgage payments stay the same for the whole loan period. If the taxes rise, the increase is normally gradual. This stable housing cost particularly important during inflation when owners make money and renters lose money.

Tax Savings

Homeowners can be qualified for significant tax savings since you can deduct mortgage interest and property taxes from your federal income tax, and also many states' income taxes. This can be a considerable amount of money at first because the first few years of mortgage payments are made up mostly of interest and taxes.

If you need to refinance to consolidate other debts (an opportunity you don't have if you are renting) the interest on this is also tax deductible.

Equity

Rather than payments vanishing into someone else’s pocket, homeowners are building equity in their own home. This is always one of a person's biggest investment contributions.  Every year that you own the home you pay more to the principal, which is money you will receive back when the home sells. It is like having a planned savings account that develops faster the longer you have it. In case the property increase in value, and generally it does, it is like money in your pocket. And you are the one who receives the benefit of that, not the landlord. You can then use this equity to plan for future goals like your child's your retirement or education.

It is Yours!

Once you own a home you are in control. It gives you the liberty to beautify it and landscape it anyhow you like. You can have a pet or two. No one can pop in and inspect your home and intimidate you with eviction.

Even young people, like college students out on their own, can sometimes profit from home ownership. It puts them way ahead of other young people their age financially by assisting with their credit and giving them what is often a brilliant investment. Often times a college student buying a home will rent the rooms out, and his or her roommates end up making the payments for the house. When the student is set to leave, she or she can sell the home (hopefully making a profit) or keep it as an investment and continue to rent it.

Buying a home is a vital decision. It is often the biggest acquisition a person makes in his or her life. Homeownership comes with some better responsibilities and is not for everyone. There are some drawbacks to homeownership that you should take into account.

Increased Expenses

Your expenses monthly may rise, depending on your condition. Even if the payments monthly are the same, homeowners still have to pay property taxes, all the utilities, and all the upkeep and maintenance expenses for the home.  Often you need to supply appliances that were equipped with a rental.

Decreased Freedom of Mobility

Homeowners can't easily move as a renter who just has to give notice to the landlord. Selling a house can be a difficult and overwhelming process. 

Risk of Depreciation

In some areas with inflated prices, there may be a risk that the house will depreciate instead of rising in value if the prices go down. If you then sell the house, you may not get much money from the home to pay back your mortgage, and may still owe the mortgage company money.

Possibility of Foreclosure

If for some reason you are unable to make your payments, you risk having the lender foreclose on your property. This can result in the loss of your home, any equity you have earned, and the loss of your good credit rating.

When considering home ownership, you need to weight the advantages and disadvantages for yourself.  If you are like most people, you will find that homeownership is worth the risks and disadvantages.

Divorce is hard, there’s no question about it. It’s not just your marriage that ended but, most probable; your standard of living is experiencing some extreme changes as well. This is mostly true if you are mandated to leave the place that was home to your family.

Depending on your particular situation, you may find that moving into an apartment is your only option. Many times it’s hard to think of an apartment as home after you’ve been accustomed to living in a house surrounded by family. But, in case you pick your apartment wisely, you may find it’ll become a cozy, comfy haven.

Take Some Time to Select your Apartment.

Don’t forget, this is going to be your new home. Don’t hurry the selection process. Choose how much you can afford to spend for rent and look at several apartments in that range as you can. The site should be one of your prime concerns. Your life is difficult enough right now, don’t make it worse by selecting a not comfortable site where commuting becomes a problem.

If your children will be visiting frequently be sure your apartment is big enough to let them feel at home. If possible, choose an apartment with a room just for them. Let them have a hand in decorating it so they’ll feel a part of it. If you have joint custody of the children and they will be living with you while attending school, you’ll also want to choose an apartment that is convenient to their schools and recreation areas.

The type of apartment you choose will be important to how well you adapt to living in it. Like a house, choose one that fits your personality. If you like puttering in the yard, make sure there is some private space where you can do that ~ even if it’s just planting flower boxes on your patio. If you enjoy cooking, make sure the kitchen meets your requirements.

You also need to consider the atmosphere of your apartment complex. If you’re going to have children living with you part time, most likely a singles community would not be the best choice. Neither would you like to choose an apartment in a building that is full of senior citizens? If there are pets involved, make sure rules don’t forbid them.

Turn your Apartment into a Home.

Do not consider your apartment a place of exile! It’s your new home and in case you want to be happy there, you must give it your attention. Unpack the boxes and arrange your furniture in a way that’s pleasing to you. Hang pictures or other artwork on the walls and stamp your new home with your own personality. If you take pride in decorating it according to your own tastes, you’ll find it becomes a welcoming and comfortable place to be. Remember you no longer have to consider anyone else’s preferences this is all yours to do with as you please!

The more your apartment reflects you and your interests, the more it will seem like home.

Enjoy it!

House hunting is a game wherein you try to get the most while paying the least. Part of getting the most is often finding a home with a view, but don’t be a sucker.

When A Great View Is Not A Great View

After a hard day’s work, you come home to your dream home. You change into something comfortable, grab a beverage and head out to the deck. There, you relax and take in your fabulous view. This is the daydream you have while standing in a home for sale that has an incredible view.

Yes, it is a nice view. In fact, it may be so nice that you do not really pay attention to the rest of the home. Even if you do, you may be able to overlook some problems that you would not otherwise if there was no view. At the end of the day, you make an offer to the seller and he accepts. 2 months later, you are the owner, moved in, unpacked and enjoying your new property. 

After a year or thereabouts, you come home at the end of a stressful day. You change clothes, grab a beverage and head out to the deck. You are stunned to see a two-story home being built in the middle of your view. How can this be? This is an outrage! Unfortunately, you probably are out of luck. Depending on your state laws, you may have no way of keeping the other property owner from spoiling your view.

As you might expect, this situation arises more often than people would like to admit. When considering making an offer on a home, one must be very careful when it comes to views. You should never dismiss other problems with the home because you like a view. Further, you should not overvalue the view. A beautiful view today may just be a view of the side of a home in a year. Investigate local legal regulations regarding new construction in the area, the height homes can be built to and whether pre-existing homes can add second or third floors. 

If you do not, you run the risk of owning the room without a view.

It is common sense to think that if you fix up your place, maybe add a little more counter space in the kitchen or maybe another bathroom, you’ll be able to sell your home for more than you bought it for. And in most cases, you would be right. But in a recent study done by Remodelling Magazine, there are some renovations that can actually cost you money and hurt the value of your house.

One of the biggest signs in today’s world that you’ve “made it” is the back yard pool. Maybe no other home improvement screams to the world that you’ve reached a level of financial security that you’re comfortable with like a pool. Well, not everyone feels the same way. Studies conducted in Florida and Arizona show that having a pool is still a big part in building equity in your property.

But, what about the rest of the country? How about places where it isn’t warm year-round? It turns out that a pool can work against you in parts of the country that have four seasons. The cost of upkeep and insurance are the main turnoffs. But there is one other turnoff, too. The risk of raising young children in a home that has a pool has become a red flag for many new parents. The fear of a drowning accident is very real for many, and the presence of a pool can turn a first-time home buyer away from your property.

Be careful when you try to get too trendy when you go to remodel. An extremely important point to remember is that while you may think a special touch is cool and fashionable, the people coming to look at your house may not think so. And while most remodel touches can be changed, you may have a hard time talking a prospective buyer into that. If you are not completely sure that the house you’re living in isn’t going to be the house you die in, try to make any remodeling touches neutral so that if the time comes to sell, you won’t regret what you did.

A final risk to avoid is the Jacuzzi tub. While you may have the time to sit in a hot tub for an hour a day, most people don’t, and most people won’t use it. You would be better off with an elaborate shower system than a big, fancy bathtub.

Once you are done searching for that lifetime real estate investment, you’ve gone to the open houses, you’ve got the backing, made an offer, sat at home disturbed if it’s going to be accepted, had the special dinner once it was and then packed in, you’re challenged with the chore of defending it. The number of pressures that your property faces can be shocking. It’s not only termites and crude neighbors that are looking to sink your land value; natural tragedies are a part of owning land as well.

It doesn’t seem to matter where you live in North America, there is a natural disaster with your name on it. The south has their hurricanes, the northeast and Midwest have blizzards and the west has earthquakes. A quake is the most sinister of all natural disasters. People in the rest of the country can see a hurricane and storm coming days; at times even weeks away and well prepare their property for the coming storm. With earthquakes, there is no caution (usually), there is no report on the news that morning saying you’re scheduled to get one. They simply happen. Therefore, how can you protect your investment from getting a bad case of the shakes? Well here are a few tips.

A good first step would be to pick up the phone or log onto the company that carries your home insurance. Almost no homeowners policies cover earthquakes. If you have the additional cash every month, earthquake insurance is a very good concept, however, be warned, it is considered disastrous insurance, so the deductible is going to be very high, normally between 10-15 percent of the amount of your policy. It’s still a good thing to have. You can view the website of the US Geological Survey to check if you live in a high enough risk area to warrant extra insurance.

A quick quake-proofing of your home is another idea that is good. This won’t so much protect your house as it will protect you if one happens. Use latches to keep cabinets closed, always ensure you have fresh water around and working batteries in all flashlights. These are normal sense steps that anyone who lives in any sort of tragedy area should consider, whether it be storms, earthquakes or hurricanes.

 A final step to safeguard your home is to know where your utility shutoffs are. Fires are common after earthquakes and you’ll want to know where your gas main shut off valve is so that you can turn it off and hopefully keep your house safe after a major quake. Also, do not turn the gas back on until you are told it’s safe to do so.

 Keeping your investment safe from natural disasters can seem impossible, but with a little common sense planning, you can minimize the damage.

When you market your home, the procedure is nearly like going to a job interview.  Selling a home involves presentation, which is one of the important factors that govern the outcome.  Although this may sound a little weird, a presentation is customs in the world of real estate.  Today’s market buyers look for good presentation – many centering their final decisions on it.

In case the property you are selling comes with a garage, you’ll need to go through your garage before you sell your home.  Odds are that you store things in your garage, which can simply pile up over time before you know it.  If your garage is in an untidy condition, you’ll clearly want to clean it up.  Buyers look for properties that are in perfect condition, and anything less than perfect will look bad in the eyes of the buyer.

Several homes have some really outstanding features inside of them.  You should at all times do your best to highlight the best features of your home, rather than just expecting that the buyer knows what they are.  The perfect way to bring out the best features of your home is using the proper lighting.  If your home is clean, you can use lighting to bring out the best features in your home, and make sure that they stand out to the buyer.

When a possible buyer first pulls up to your home; the first thing he will see is your lawn.  If your lawn is trimmed and well taken care of, he will get a good impression right at the start. But if your lawn is a wreck, instantly he may pull away.  To give the best impression to the buyer, you should put some idea into how things look.  You can plant flowers around the walkway and all over the yard, which will look good to a potential buyer.

You should also make sure that the entrance into your home is a positive as well.  The front entry door should be in good shape, as well as the entry area into the home.  You can add some plants, paintings, and carpets to make sure that your buyer gets a good first impression.  When the buyer walks through the front door into your home, you should ensure that the view he or she uses is a good one.  Your main goal when showing your home is to ensure that the buyer is happy.

Remember that selling your home may take some time. Nowadays, homes can sit on the market for months at a time before they really sell.  If you are having issues selling your home, you can always reduce the price or just go back to the basics.  Eventually, you will sell your home – although it may take more time than you think.

As the real estate markets continue to drop around the country, several homeowners are questioning what they can do to defend themselves and the investment they have made in their home. There are really numerous different ways you can take to take to ensure you stay ahead of the softening real estate market.

One of the very first steps that should be taken is to check with if your city or county property tax office to study your current tax assessment. This will tell you what the county or city-states your home is actually worth. You should then compare this rate to what your home is currently worth based on current market conditions. It is not rare for homeowners in many states, like California, to find out that they are paying more money in property taxes than they should be paying based on the worth of their home in the present market.

Homeowners in some states are really paying up to 40% over what they should pay. If you are not sure of your home’s current value in the existing market, it is also a good idea to have your home appraised to determine its current value. Taking both of these steps will give you a realistic idea of the value of your home in the current market and ensure that you are not paying more money in taxes than you should be.

 If you do have an adjustable rate mortgage it is certainly worth it to consider refinancing your mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage. Before you actually refinance; however, there are several steps which you should take first. Start by checking your existing mortgage documents to determine if you will be punished for paying off the existing loan quick. While you will be taking on a new loan, your current loan will be paid off when you refinance it and this could lead you to penalties if such a clause exists in your mortgage documents.

In some cases, you may discover that you actually owe more on your home than it is worth. This is actually not rare among homeowners who took out exotic mortgage loans a few years ago when prices were increasing rapidly and the market was a hot cake. However, today, this can result in a bit of shock among homeowners who are facing big mortgage payments on homes that have fallen rapidly in value. While it is expected that the market will start to stabilize sometime next year, you will need to give some careful thinking to whether it would be in your best financial interest to just walk away from such a situation and try to start fresh.

Additionally, you need to consider how long you plan to remain in the home and balance out that time in comparison to the number of closing costs you will need to pay when you refinance your home. While several mortgage companies promote ‘no cost’ refinance loans you should know if such loans rarely, if ever, exist. The costs for refinancing your loan are usually financed in with the loan under this type of plan. This means that instead of paying the costs for the loan up front you will be paying interest on them throughout the duration of the loan. In addition, it is important to research any mortgage company you consider to ensure there have been no complaints filed against them before you refinance your mortgage.

 If you plan to remain in your home, it is also a good idea to check your homeowner’s insurance policy to be certain that it is up to date. This can prove to be critical in the event you suffer any type of loss on your home in the future. If you live in an area that is susceptible to hurricane or storm damage it is especially important to make sure that your policy accurately reflects your home in its current state.

HUD homes are available everywhere in the United States, and it is a great investment for anyone that is interested. These properties sometimes get a bad rap for being in bad condition, but in all reality, they are not any worse than other foreclosed homes that are out there. Just like anything else, there are few HUD properties that are in great condition, and some that are just in need of a few repairs. It is simply a matter of how well the past owner cared for the home.

HUD homes are properties that had loans which were covered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. But when the owner fails to live up to the financial responsibilities that are anticipated, the bank then takes over the home and it becomes a HUD property. At this time, it is the responsibility of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to repay the lender any money that they lost on the deal. So as you can see, the Department of Housing and Urban Development sticks their neck on the line when they insure the loans on these homes; if the owner does not pay, they are stuck with owing money to the lender.

Investors are particularly fond of HUD properties because they are a great way to make them a quick profit. The way this works is quite simple. Since HUD properties can be bought at a great discount, investors will purchase as many as they can afford. They will then fix these homes up just enough so that they can sell them back to the public. But the catch is that they sell them for the market value. This means that their profit equals the difference between the market value cost and how much they actually bought the home for. In many cases, this can be tens of thousands of dollars. By doing this on several houses a month, HUD property investors can make a lot of money.

In case you are not an investor and simply in need of a new home, you may also want to try HUD properties. Even if you may have to put some work into fixing the home, you will save a lot of money on the original cost. With the money that you save you will simply be able to make the necessary repairs.

HUD properties can be found all over the United States and provide great buys to interested parties.