Catha For Council Blog

Mortgages depend significantly on the value of the property that is involved. Consequently, it become important to know how much a property is worth before heading into refinancing plans, looking for a home loan, or selling a house.

One way to do this is to determine the market value of the property. A simple way to do this is to look at other comparable homes in the same neighborhood and see what prices they have been sold recently. The Internet or real estate agents are effective and efficient resources for this purpose, and will most likely come at no cost to you.

Another way to find the value of your property is to find its appraised value. To do this you need to pay for the help of a trained and licensed professional. They will take into account a variety of factors, including the home’s square footage, construction quality, floor plan, design, surrounding neighborhood, proximity to important services and locations, as well as the landscaping, among other factors. An appraiser will usually cost anywhere between $200 and $300.

An appraiser can also tell you the replacement value of the property. This is how much an appraiser estimates it will cost to build a similar house on an unoccupied lot. The appraiser will take the age of the home into account to make a better estimate with deterioration and depreciation in mind.

One important thing to note is that a home’s estimated value is not the same as its worth. A home’s estimated value is defined by one of the methods listed above, while its worth is eventually established by what potential buyers are willing to pay for it.

www.allmortgagenews.com“>Mortgages

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There has been much interest in the high plateau area overlooking the northern coast at Topola just north of Balchik in Bulgaria. Investors who have bought land in this location have enjoyed substantial gains in the value of their Bulgarian property investment, but will this continue?

For the most part of 2005 there was little activity on the golf course construction site. This lead to speculation that the golf course may not actually be built. However, in recent weeks there has been a flurry of building activity and visitors to this attractive location on the Black Sea Coast can now visualize that this really will be an exemplar property development in Bulgaria.

The 18 hole golf course will also offer clubhouse facilities, restaurants, bar, swimming pools, tennis courts and volley ball. Luxury villas in this fabulous development will be available and top prices will be up to £300 000.

Ian Hunt at Best Bulgarian Estates Ltd, a UK based Bulgarian property agency, said,

‘The development of the golf course at Balchik is great news for people who have invested in land and property adjacent the golf course. The ongoing construction will now prompt more land owners and developers to build properties at Topola. But it is still good news for people considering investing in Bulgaria. Building plots at Topola can still be purchased for around
£15 000.

It is possible to build a good standard Bulgarian villa for around £30 000. In light of the golf course construction many people, now looking for potential investment opportunities will be attracted to the area. We think the price of land in this area will rise significantly over the next few months. This is currently an excellent investment opportunity’

View golf course plots and other Bulgarian property

Ian Hunt

Best Bulgarian Estates Ltd

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A good definition of a conservation easement is a legal agreement through which a landowner gives up certain uses and developmental rights in the land by way of a series of restrictions. In exchange, certain other rights, including the right to enforce the restrictions, are granted to a non-profit conservation organization or a government agency involved in park or natural area protection. Conservation easement properties can maintain rights to some uses while enjoying the benefits of protection.

The Drovers Road Preserve easement (www.DroversRoad.com), developed by Equinox Environmental, protects 110 acres, allowing specified development on the other 76 acres. Each residential lot adjoins the Preserve lands, providing easy access to miles of hiking and equestrian trails. The easement permanently protects a majority of the forested, mountainous terrain from all future development. It is held by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and registered in Buncombe County. Very little North Carolina mountain real estate is protected in this way.

What is protected by conservation easements?

Conservation easements are tailored to the particular characteristics of the land. First, a complete natural resource inventory is developed, including maps, photographs of existing improvements, species lists, etc. By identifying sensitive areas, land use patterns, and any areas where limited development may be allowed, the inventory provides the conceptual framework for drafting the easement. At Drovers Road Preserve, the easement protects 59% of the entire property, including rare species habitat, four rare vascular plants, sensitive water resources, and the 150-year-old forest stands along the ridgeline.

How do conservation easements differ from restrictive covenants in subdivisions?

Though similar in that both govern how a property may be developed, land with a conservation easement differs in several significant ways from subdivisions under a restrictive covenant. Subdivision restrictions encourage controlled development of the property in order to protect private property values. Conservation easements, by contrast, are by definition designed primarily to preserve property in its natural state. Though many easements allow certain specified uses, a conservation easement is intended to provide benefits to the public at large, not just individual homeowners, by protecting native habitats and resident species of plants and animals.

Is a conservation easement a legally binding document?

If the easement will continue to bind future owners of the land, and if the donor wishes to claim a charitable contribution for the conveyance, it must be registered in the public land records (the “Registry”) of the county or counties where the property is located. Drovers Road Preserve, as a registered conservation easement property in Buncombe County, is legally protected from additional development for all future generations.

Corey Creed works with Drovers Road Preserve to encourage others to appreciate the beauty of this North Carolina Mountain Real Estate. Please visit http://www.DroversRoad.com to learn more.

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Timing the refinancing of your second mortgage is just as important as finding low rates and fees. Before you decide to refinance, make sure that you have a clear benefit. Either save money with lower rates or protect yourself with the security of a low fixed rate second mortgage.

When Lower Rates Equal Savings

Lower rates can equal savings if you have enough time to recoup any closing costs or other fees. In most instances, a point drop of two percent or more with seven years left on the loan makes it cost efficient to refinance. To see if this is true in your case, compare what you are paying now with the potential payment of a new mortgage.

Combining both your first and second mortgages will further reduce your rates and save on application fees. This only works if your primary mortgage has high rates currently.

Protect Yourself From Rising Rates

With an adjustable rate second mortgage, refinancing can protect you from rising interest rates. Even with caps in place, you could see your current loan period length, adding to your total loan costs.

Refinancing for a fixed rate home equity loan will provide you with the security of a regular payment schedule. In some cases, you may also find a lower fixed rate than your current adjustable rate.

Timing Is Important With Refinancing

With most home equity loans, you pay most of the interest at the beginning of the payment period. So by the last half of your loan, you are paying hardly any interest. To see the biggest savings, you need to refinance early.

If you plan to move soon, then you will also want to hold off on refinancing. While closing costs usually only equal 1% to 3% of principal, it takes a couple of years to regain these costs.

To see if you have a clear benefit to refinancing, start looking at loan quotes. Figure the potential costs of interest and fees, and compare them to your current second mortgage. Factor in your future financial goals, and you will have a good idea if refinancing is for you.

Go to www.abcloanguide.com/refinance.shtml for information on 2nd Mortgage Refinance. ABC Loan Guide’s lenders are reputable and offer competitive rates.

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What’s the most efficient way to secure a US Commercial Mortgage? Work with a mortgage broker who specializes in this area. If you’ve ever applied for a loan, you’re familiar with the mountain of paperwork you are required to complete during the process. The lender takes the applicant’s information, runs it thought their guidelines and formulas and after waiting many weeks, a decision is made to either approve or deny the loan. If approved, the transaction can proceed. If denied, the applicant has to begin the process all over again.

US commercial mortgage lenders use guidelines similar to those used when applying for a residential loan. The applicant must provide a good reason for needing the loan. The property must have an acceptable appraised value. The location of the property is also considered. The credit history of the applicant, including the financial condition of the business is thoroughly investigated. In addition, commercial mortgages require significant collateral to secure the loan. This can be in the form of business equipment or inventory, personal or other properties, heavy machinery, or any asset with a significant value.

But even the most carefully prepared and well-documented commercial mortgage applications can be declined. When this happens, the applicant has no other choice than to start the tedious commercial mortgage loan approval process over again. Weeks go by, opportunities are lost, and still the outcome remains unknown. How many times do you want to go through this process?

Most applicants agree the correct answer is only once. The way to achieve this goal is to work with an experienced and reputable US commercial mortgage broker. A broker takes your one completed commercial mortgage application and submits it to many different commercial lenders, all at the same time, which greatly increases your chances of approval and saves you a considerable amount of time.

A commercial mortgage broker works with these different lenders every day. The broker knows what each lender looks for in an application and sends your application to those with the best chances of approving your loan. This method is highly targeted. And, brokers only get paid when they successfully match applicant with lender. Their financial incentive is what motivates them. Best of all, the lender pays the broker’s fees, not the applicant.

Working with a commercial mortgage broker costs you, the applicant, nothing. Working with a broker frees up your time so you can get back to running your business. Working with a broker greatly increases your chances of getting your commercial loan approved fast. In fact, brokers often get approval from multiple lenders which puts applicants in a great position to bargain better loan terms. And best of all, brokers will handle these negotiations!

There are so many reasons why working with a US commercial mortgage broker makes sense. Yet it’s amazing how many applicants don’t take advantage of their services. You work hard at streamlining your business and cutting your operating costs so why not streamline your commercial loan approval process? For fast results, contact a US commercial mortgage broker today!

Author:- Commercial Mortgage and Bridging Finance specialists Commercial Lifeline.

Download our free Commercial Mortgage guides by visiting our Commercial Mortgage Guide page.

This article comes with reprint rights. You are free to reprint and distribute as you like. All that we ask is that you do not make any changes, that this resource text is include, and that the links above are intact.

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I just got off the phone with John, a student of mine.

My conversation with John was thought provoking and exciting and I thought you needed to hear the same powerful information I just shared with him.

But, first I have a few questions…

Do you want to be enormously successful investing in real estate?

Do you want to have the kind of money rolling in that changes your lifestyle into what you dare dream of only in your wildest fantasies?

Yes, of course! I know you do. So what’s the secret to success?

It’s in the numbers!

In a perfect world, every lead you spoke to would turn into a closed deal. Unfortunately, we don’t live in that utopia. In fact, more leads will lead nowhere than those worth pursuing. Your job is to separate the chaff from the wheat. To find the profitable deals hiding behind a motivated seller. Let me make it very simple - increases in the number of seller discussions increases dollars in the bank. It’s a game of numbers.

Regardless of your expertise, you have some ratio of deals
to contracts. This is the heart of this lesson. Instead of becoming depressed because you don’t sign enough seller contracts, recognize this is just a game of numbers. If you
want more contracts, talk to more Sellers. Let’s suppose that your ratio is on the low side - it is 30:1. That means that you have to talk to 30 sellers to sign one great deal.

If you want 2 deals in the next month, then you need to talk
to 60 sellers. If you want 4 deals, then you need to talk
to 120 sellers. To be successful, just increase the number
of sellers to whom you’re talking.

Track your results each month to identify opportunities.

Simply write down every seller that you speak to in the course of a month, and record the results of that call. If at the end of the month, the results fell short of the goal, the tracking form will tell you why. For instance, you may realize that you only actually spoke to five sellers. Sure, you were busy all month. In fact you called these five people repeatedly, following up, trying to make something happen. But in the end, you still only spoke to five potential sellers. This may sound obvious, but many investors try to work a few leads to death, rather than simply increase their number of leads. The answer is to increase the number of calls.

The other answer is to improve your ratio. If you’re at 30:1,
your goal should be to get to 20:1. Are you talking to motivated sellers?

You are not a real estate investor. You are a problem solver.

If the sellers have no significant problem, they have no need
for your services so you’re wasting your time. On your tracking
sheet, write down each seller’s motivation. At the end of the
month, see how were actually motivated. If that number is low,
improve your marketing to attract the right type of sellers.

The best way to improve your ratio is to increase the number of
techniques and strategies you have at your disposal to solve
their problem and ultimately purchase their home. If one technique is all you know you’ll pass over opportunities looking for the one seller that meets your criteria. Constant improvement and education should be something that never stops in your career. As your abilities expand, your ratio will improve. Suppose you changed your ratio from 30:1 to 15:1. Your profits would DOUBLE! Is it worth your time to track your results? You better believe it. Your monthly tracking sheet will provide precise information as to what needs to be done to improve your results: increase the number of calls; improve the quality of the callers - make sure to attract motivated sellers; expand your knowledge base to maximize your
opportunities. Success is not about luck. Success is in the numbers.

Study the numbers and explode your bank account.

Best of Success & Abundance,

Lou Castillo

Now, Easily find all the real estate funding you’ll ever need! This complete system will show you how to acquire unlimited real estate funding, even without using banks, hard money or your own credit! Learn more in this FREE Report!!

Real Estate Financing

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These days, as people scramble for new and more creative ways to finance buying a home, the interest only mortgage is becoming more common and well known. An interest only mortgage is one in which you have the option of paying only the interest (or just the interest and a portion of the principal) each month in the early years of the mortgage loan. Interest only periods may be applied to adjustable rate mortgages, or 30 year fixed rate mortgages, depending on the lender.

In a traditional mortgage, each month your mortgage payment is divided in two parts - one part is paid on the interest charge, the other on the principal of the loan. The main feature of an interest only mortgage loan is that during a specified initial period of time - usually three, five, seven or ten years - you may choose to make a payment of the interest portion of the loan only. The option is flexible. One month you may choose to make an interest only payment, another you may choose to make an interest-plus-part-of-the-principal mortgage payment, or a full, standard monthly mortgage payment. Needless to say, an interest-only payment will be significantly less than a traditional mortgage payment.

The flexibility of an interest-only mortgage allows you to adjust your mortgage cost on a month by month basis, giving you more control over your monthly cash flow. In any given month during the interest-only period, you have the flexibility to pay as much or as little on your mortgage as you can.

Interest only mortgages aren’t right for everyone. While you have the option of paying interest only each month during the early years, the principal repayment on your mortgage loan is accumulating. At the end of your interest only period, your mortgage payment will take a dramatic jump. Financial experts recommend interest only mortgages for specific types of borrowers: those whose income is supplemented by large commissions or bonuses throughout the year, those who can reasonably expect to be making considerably more income in a few years than they are now, and those borrowers who actually WILL invest the difference between their interest-only payment and their full mortgage payment in profitable investments.

The power of an interest-only loan, according to most experts, is that you can ‘afford to buy more house’. Because you’ll have the choice during the early years of paying only the interest each month, you can effectively afford the monthly payments on a house that’s as much as 30% more expensive than you could with an amortizing (typical) mortgage payment.

You also, however, have the choice each month of paying the interest plus as much on the principal as you wish. If you’re a salesman, for instance, whose standard income is supplemented quarterly and semi-annually by large commissions or bonuses, you could pay interest-only during lean months, saving yourself up to $350 in those months. In the months that you get a large commission though, you could choose to pay down several thousand dollars on the principal.

An interest only mortgage also makes sense if you have a solid investment plan. If a typical mortgage payment would be $900 monthly, and your interest-only payment for the month is $625, then the best financial strategy according to many financial experts is to invest the remaining $275 in a solid, money-making stocks program.

Interest only loans are not for everyone, but they can be a valuable financial tool that can help you control your spending and give your investment power some added oomph. Don’t rush blindly into an interest only mortgage, but do speak to a financial expert or loan officer about whether an interest only loan may be right for you.

Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the loan information sites www.selectloans.co.uk/ and also www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk. At the Personal Loan Store you can find some of the latest secured home loans explained in detail.

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