Women and Real Estate

If you don't already own a home, there are so many reasons to from a financial perspective: 

• build equity
• save money on taxes and use your equity as back-up security 

Equity is the ability to increase the difference between your home value and the amount you owe on your mortgage.

Moreso, as a woman there is an even important reason, it is a tremendous source of security for your future. 

Many women that own real estate have seen success in other parts of their financial lives as well! 

This could include renting out spare rooms for additional income.

If you already own a home, you should think about paying down your mortgage a bit more each month or year. 

If you are married, this will only increase the value of your assets towards your retirement. 

In fact, it is an opportunity to become more active within the financial realm of your life. 

By becoming interested in the insights of the financial details of how it works (i.e. through paying off your mortgage earlier, refinancing when rates lower or appraising the home when values rise), it can lead to taking more of an interest in other areas of your family's personal finance. 

For women that end up alone, either through divorce or widowed, owning a home can provide tremendous financial security. 

It provides options that provide security later on in life such as: tapping into the value of the home, getting extra income or taking advantage of the increased value. 

Since real estate prices have gone up so much these last few years, partially due to low interest rates, you might be thinking that you can't afford to get into the real estate market where you live. 

You can look in other areas. 

For example, central CBD locations have become prohibitively expensive. 

Therefore, many people are buying homes in the outer suburbs and have already seen property values rise. 

Or you might be thinking that you don't have enough saved for a down payment. 

Many people don't believe in mortgage insurance, the reality is that this may be worthwhile to enable you to purchase a home. It is likely you will see this money returned as the value of your home may have gone up so the insurance is money well spent.

If you don't do anything about it, you still won't have enough saved for a down payment. 

The alternative options is that you could buy a small 1 bedroom apartment and rent it out. It doesn't always have to be the home you need to live in.

My first investment property was a 1 bedroom apartment in a boutique development in Melbourne's CBD in Australia. I have since purchased further investment properties and have not lived in any of them.

I am a "rentvestor" which means that I rent myself and buy houses to rent out to others.

If owning a property is aligned to your goals, the key is to just get started!

How Do I Get Into Commercial Real Estate Investing?

First of all, commercial investing is not as hard as people think. There seems to be a stigma surrounding commercial investing. People think it's the big glass 100 million dollar buildings downtown. Sure, it is, but it's not always that. There are many different kinds of commercial investing that you can get into. You can start small and work your way up. It's not as hard as people think. It's not as hard to get funded, to find deals, and sometimes not as much work, once you have the deals. 

Everyone that owns commercial properties are not like Donald Trump. They don't all have their own TV shows, aren't in the news, aren't in the casinos, own sports teams, and don't have the perfect woman on their arm. It's just real people that own most of the commercial properties out there. People like you and me. It's the guy next store. The guy that owns a few Dunkin Donuts stores. There are all types of commercial properties. 

Let's talk about the basics. First off, what is commercial investing? When it houses a business, it's a commercial investment. Business parks, where it's one level, and there are many different buildings, those are commercial rented condos or business offices. It consists of office buildings in office parks. There are also industrial parks which look like office parks, but they are mostly blue collar businesses like manufacturers, warehouses, and storage places. This also includes strip malls where there are Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, UPS stores, etc. It's one building, one-story tall that's broken off into many different stores. Then we have our indoor malls where there are hundreds of stores inside, which include an anchor store, which is the main store, like a Decathlon or Target to get your attention. There are also office condos which house doctors, offices too. Also, we have warehouses, and even apartment houses. These are considered recession-proof properties. Assisted living facilities are commercial properties as well. Let's not forget about land. People are buying land and putting a cell tower or antennae on the land and making money. 

When you are out driving around, please pay attention to what you are seeing. Start noticing these commercial properties. Start thinking about commercial investing! Commercial investing adds a zero. You can do one deal a year in commercial investing and become a multi-millionaire. Some people have done one deal and it has changed their life, enabling them to retire. Don't let it intimidate you. It just has one more zero on the end! 

One of the things about commercial investing is that once you own the property, it's easier to maintain it because most of the time, you will let the pros handle it. You will have a management team to handle the payments, as well as attorneys and accountants handling the day to day work. There will be less day to day work once you own that commercial property, versus a residential property. Let's face it. If you own one piece of property with tenants in there, you know how much work that is. If you have a few properties, it's even more work dealing with tenants not paying, collections, disappearing tenants, and cleaning it out and finding new tenants. It's a lot of work! Virtually, you can pretty much have the pros do it for you. You can hire a management team, attorney, and accountant. Properties generally throw off enough monthly cash flow so that you can have it all taken care of for you. 

Anything you do with residential properties, you can do with commercial properties! You can buy and hold a house and rent it out, as well as a commercial property. You can wholesale it, get a contract on it, find someone to pay more, flip it, and step out of the deal. You never owned it. You get your finders' fee or spread, but instead of making $3,000 or $8,000, you can start making $50,000 to $200,000 just by flipping commercial deals. Just add another zero or two! Don't let it intimidate you! 

You can also lease commercial properties with the option to buy and make the big bucks! 

All of the same techniques you can use with houses, you can use with commercial properties. Note that one of the main differences is how you get the value. You can have two apartment buildings across the street from each other or in the same complex, and both apartment buildings can be identical. But, if one is 30% occupied and one is 70% occupied, and the first one is worth $700,000 and the next one worth 3 or 4 million, the only difference is how much it's occupied. How do you make big money fast in commercial investing? You find the one that is 30% occupied, find 5 or 6 tenants and bring it up to 70% occupied, and then you sell, get out of it, and make the spread. You can double or quadruple the cost or equity of commercial property by controlling it, filling it, and then getting out of it. It's a beautiful thing! 

Don't let commercial investing intimidate you. Add a couple of zero's to the profit! Consider opening your mind about commercial investing. Start thinking big! 

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Nick_Cifonie/237825

Top 10 Keys To Successful Real Estate Investments

When dealing with real estate investments there are many steps to go through before investing. Here are my top 10 keys to a successful real estate investment. 

1) Education 

If you are not experienced in real estate investments the very first thing you should do is to get educated. Take the time to find out what all of the risks are in the investment type you are interested in. Find others that can help educate you on the investment type, which are not involved in the transaction you are doing specifically so there is no conflict of interest. Buy educational material, get connected with online groups and go to multiple seminars in order to continue your education

2) Goal Settings 

If you do not have a goal lined out for your real estate investments how do you plan on getting there? Most investors buy one property, or invest based on emotion rather than having a set goal in mind. For example, you could have a goal of obtaining $30,000 per month in passive rental income from your investments through buying single family rental homes and apartment buildings. Your goals should be clearly defined and should include protections and risk mitigation techniques to make sure it is a stable viable plan that can be obtained

3) Building Your Resources

You WILL NOT become a successful real estate investor without resources. In real estate resources include, capital investors, property leads, team members and much more. For this you must expand your relationship base. Real estate is a team sport so if you do not build your network, you cannot build your team

4) Building Your Team 

In order to make your investments work you must build your team. Some of the team members you need are Real Estate Agents, Brokers and Bankers, Private Lenders, Appraisers, CPA's, Attorney's, Affiliates, Inspectors, Property Managers and Contractors. There are much more but it's pretty impossible to name them all. It takes quite a bit of time to develop your team and make sure they can be relied upon. Building a team is the most important aspect of investing other than your due diligence on the investment itself

 5) Due Diligence

Before investing in any real estate asset your due diligence is crucial. You need to analyse the market your investing in, the market timing relative to that market, the specific neighborhood, the market value of the investment, the cash flow it produces, the rental income it should bring in, all of the expenses related to the investment and much more. 

Inspections should be done as well as review of all of the backup documentation such as leases and contracts. Think like an auditor, review all of the backup information provided by the seller and verify it with an outside source as much as possible. I hear horror stories all the time about how people lost money in real estate. After inquiring as to what happened I can say that 99% of the time the investor did not do or know how to do the right due diligence on the investment in the first place. 

6) Property Management

Property management can make or break your investment. If you do not have a competent property manager that actually cares about your investment and your success you will have a losing investment. 

Most managers are bad at some of the basic management functions such as accounting, rent collection, tenanting, leasing and background checks, repair calls and taking care of the tenant. By far the most important and biggest problem is communication with the owner of the property. 

Communication is crucial because without communication the investor cannot make decisions regarding the investment and lack control. Property management also needs to be structured based on performance, meaning, they get paid if it's occupied only, not when it's vacant and there are incentives in place to optimise performance. 

7) Marketing 

If you do not know how to market for property, capital, property sales, and resources you will not be successful in real estate. Marketing and sales is one of the most important parts of any business. 

During economic problems and recessions most companies cut back on marketing when it's most important to increase your marketing efforts. If there are less investors, buyers, and resources available because of the economy, there is more of your competition going after your resources. So in order to attract those resources before your competition you have to market more. 

Marketing and sales is a business all in itself so getting educated on marketing strategies is imperative to your success. If you do not understand it or start to learn about internet marketing you will not gain the market share you deserve and will not be as successful. 85% of buyers go online first for investments. 

8) Treat Your Investments As a Business 

Most investors buy one real estate investment and do not fully utilise all of its capabilities from a business perspective. If you own one property or 50+ properties you should be treating it as a business. Be sure to keep track of ALL of your expenses related to the investment, the due diligence you did, travel costs you incurred, etc so that you can get a deduction for those items against income from other sources. 

These types of expenses can happen annually and a percentage of your personal expenses can be used as a tax loophole in order to deduct more against your active income from your job. Your biggest expense in life is your taxes. It is the government's job to find more creative ways to tax us. It is our job to find creative ways to legally not pay taxes. If you are not winning against the government, start to educate yourself on key tax saving strategies. 

9) Legal Protection And Tax Structuring 

It is crucial that you protect yourself from financial predators. There are people out there that will sue anyone they possibly can. It's really important to obtain insurance or put your assets into a proper entity so that you are not liable in frivolous lawsuits. 

Please consult your individual tax advisor to go over your specific situation. Also be sure to keep yourself separate financially from the investment or entity you hold the investment in so that you do not pierce the corporate veil. If you co-mingle your funds there is a very real possibility that in court your legal entity protection that you worked so hard to setup is worthless. 

10) Investing In Sustainable Investment Types 

Invest in asset types and real estate investments that are sustainable in the long run. Look closely at the cash flow included in the investment. 

Flipping can be much more dangerous than investing for cash flow because you typically have a payment on a flip investment that is not covered fully by the rental income and if you get stuck with the property you find yourself in a negative cash flow situation and can only sustain as long as you have money in the bank that can make that payment. Many people lose a lot of money trying to flip property, not knowing fully what they are doing and the risk they are taking only to lose a significant amount of money. 

On the other side when you are investing for cash flow only invest in quality assets. Typically if you invest in low end assets in your market you get low end tenants also. What I consider a low end tenant is someone that does not pay the rent on time if at all, causes damage to your property and is a nightmare to deal with. This happens quite frequently in low end property for a particular market. 

You want to invest in quality long term assets that are going to produce positive monthly cash flow and make you a great return on investment after you have been conservative with the numbers. I truly believe if you do these things along with increasing your financial IQ you will be successful if you work hard for it. 

Most of the wealthy individuals in the world work hard for their money and are constantly evaluating their financial situation and investment goals. Putting a personal budget together and reviewing it monthly, creating additional income sources, implementing tax savings strategies, protecting your money from financial predators and constantly educating yourself are the keys to becoming wealthy. 

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Mathew_P_Owens/916588 © 2021

What Women Need To Know About Money

Life is definitely more than just about money. There are so many things to know about money. The list is endless, but here are a list of important things you as a woman should know about money:

1. Men and Women are Different

Understand that men and women are different in how we use money, how we feel about money, and how we communicate about money. In most relationships one partner will be the spender and one will be a saver. Understand the differences of each and take the positives of both personalities to make the most out of your money and your relationship. Set time aside each month to have a "money date." A money date is once or twice a month where you and your spouse go over your finances together. You can use this time to pay bills, review your expenses, review your investments and to use this time to understand and appreciate how you and your spouse view money. Discuss your monthly spending and saving. If you are single, your money date can be with either researching yourself or alternatively with a Financial Advisor.

If women stay at home to care for the kids, on average they stay at home for 11 ½ years. That is 11 ½ years that they don't have money going into a retirement plan or social security. Also, it costs more as women to live. Just look at drycleaning. Women's shirts cost more than men's. What about haircuts? Women's haircuts cost more than men. Also, women live on average 7 years longer than men. Plus women tend to care for others before they care for themselves.

Also, we as women tend to be more conservative investors. A recent Bloomberg survey reported that female investors outperformed male investors by 55 percent in the past nine years. Another is our income. Studies show that women still earn 76 cents for every dollar that a man earns. This is one of the reasons women start their own businesses two times the rate that men do. Another scary statistic is that 55% of women over 65 are widows and their income is $9,366.00 a year! So, to sum it up we have a lot going against us, but we are smarter investors.  

2. Have A Cushion

Any financial coach/advisor/research online is going to tell you that you want a minimum of 3 months worth of income set aside for emergencies. This is for if you lose your job, car accident, medical emergencies, etc. Focus on where you are at financially and if you lost your income how long you could live off your savings. The main focus point is to make sure that your money is working hard enough for you. It is important to have the money in an account that earns interest. If you have your liquid money in a checking account or underneath your mattress it is earning no interest. Money that is liquid is immediately accessible to you such as in a checking or savings account. But, ideally in an insured money market account - some place where you can earn the most interest on your money but still keeping it liquid.

3. Know One Rule

The Rule of 72 is a simple formula that helps you understand how fast money grows and how assets appreciate. If you divide 72 by the interest rate that you are earning on your money, you will find out how many years it takes for your money to double. For example, if over the last seventy years the stock market produced an average return of 10.4%, you round that down to 10% and plug it into the formula, and you will find that your money should be doubling every 7.2 years. The Rule of 72 is a mathematical concept and is not a guarantee of investment performance or a predictor of investment results. It is simply an approximation of the impact a targeted rate of return would have. There is no assurance an investment will double in value.

4. Save Money Monthly and Buy SMART Assets

The more money you can set up in an automatic investment program the easier it may be to save. If you are like me and when you have money in your purse, you may spend it. With automatic investment programs, you are able to save as little as $25 a week or month and have the money come directly out of a checking or savings account. The goal is to buy things that produce income. That is the whole goal. The goal is that you accumulate enough assets so that you do not have to go to work and take your time to earn your money. The goal is that you accumulate enough assets that you can live off of them. Examples of these assets include businesses, rental property, stocks, and most bonds. Consider buying assets that are expected to produce cash flow, but do not require daily management. This can help you attempt to build and preserve your wealth. 

5. Know Your Money

 Money is simply a vehicle to get you to where you want to go. Take control of your vehicle and control your path and destination. The one thing women are great at is relationships. Your relationship with money is important. One of the things you can do to feel more in control of your money is to take time to attend seminars on money and investing. Learn what assets are and how they work. Use this educational time to then relate it to your own financial situation. 

Know the three basic types of investments: stocks, bonds, and cash. 

What is a stock? A stock is a share of ownership in a corporation.
What is a bond? Think of a bond like a loan. You take your money, loan it out to someone and in a number of years you will get your money back plus interest. What is cash? Cash is liquid money. Cash is your money in a money market, savings account, and in your purse.

6. Happiness in Retirement

The first step in saving for retirement is to answer these two questions.

• At what age do you want to retire?
• How much income do you want when you retire?

If you can tell me how much you have saved up so far and the answer to these two questions, I can tell you if you are on track towards retirement. Or if you are not on track. And if not on track, I can tell you how much you need to save every month to get on track. There are a number of different vehicles that you can use to save for retirement such as 401K, IRA, Superannuation, Pension, ISA

7. Investing Makes Sense

When it comes to investing we need to find balance. The balance can come by spreading risk over time. There are many different types of things to invest in such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, structured CD's, and so many more types of investments. Either seek out a financial advice/research online for they can help you to have investing make sense.

8. Helping Kids

How to help your kids be happy with money is by talking about your values and what is important to you about your money. I encourage you to give yourself and your kids an allowance. I also recommend setting up a family fund. With a family fund, you as a family come up with a goal for your money; as a parent, you can offer a matching program. The goal could be a trip or a new toy. So, for example, if your daughter puts in $1.00 to the family fund, you could match her 50 cents. This way she can learn about finance so that when she starts her first job she understands the concept of money and investing. There are many options available for saving for kids for college such as a 529 Plan and IRA.


9. Plan For Your Estate

Estate planning is a topic that sometimes people do not like to talk about. Who likes to plan for their death? Estate planning can be crucial unless your plan is to die broke. I encourage you to set up a will or trust. The woman that is organized, and truly wealthy plans for when she will no longer be around. 

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which investment(s) may be appropriate for you. Stock investing involves risk including loss of principal. Bonds are subject to market and interest rate risk if sold prior to maturity. Bond values will decline as interest rates rise and bonds are subject to availability and change in price.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Nicole_N_Middendorf/1358640