Personal Finance ResourcesPersonal Finance ResourcesFree help and information to guide you in your personal finance and investing goals. Articles
Some Simple Credit Card Warnings
2008-01-14 17:39:00 Credit cards can be disastrous, and the credit card companies are becoming even more sneaky when it comes to interest and fees. Here are some quick tips to watch out for when dealing with these financial monsters: “Fixed” Interest isn’t always fixed. Often, credit cards have clauses in the terms and conditions that will allow them to ... More About: Card , Credit , Credit Card , Simple , Warnings
After Christmas Blues
2008-01-11 18:39:00 The holidays are over, but that doesn?t mean they aren?t still going to haunt you for another month or two. In fact, those credit card bills are probably going to be showing up very soon in the mail. However, don?t let the post-holiday bills get you down too much because there are a ... More About: Christmas , Blues
Financing a Used Car
2008-01-10 20:39:00 Want to get taken to cleaners? Then consider buying a used car from a dealer. Even certified dealers will swipe the last dime from your pocket book. I am not trying to be hateful here, but I have a friend that was a car salesman for a year or two, and he told that they ... More About: Financing
Let the RE Investing Show Go On
2008-01-09 17:41:00 In my latest acquisition, the investor that I represent as a property manager wanted to meet one of the tenants. So I said OK, and we have that scheduled for 11:00 AM this morning. This tenant is a good tenant, but is a little anxious, thinking that his rent may increase substantially with a new ... More About: Show , Investing
Mortgage Origination Fees are Hogwash
2008-01-08 21:20:00 I have done several real estate deals now, all involving some type of mortgage or commercial loan. I have only worked a deal once (that I can remember) where I allowed the mortgage broker to charge an origination fee. Origination fees are absolutely garbage and are just additional money that the broker or agent gets ... More About: Fees , Mortgage , Mort
Stay on Your Renters, They Will Try to Sneak Things Past You
2008-01-07 19:47:00 Being a property manager isn’t as easy as you might think. In my most recent deal involving the acquisition of 4 units, the current renters were aware of the change in ownership/management. So one of the renters took the opportunity to be late with their rent payment. Under the existing contract, their rent is due ... More About: Past , Things , Stay
Aftermath of a Real Estate Closing
2008-01-03 21:55:00 Ok, so now we have the 4 units. But now comes the hard part, getting the repairs done and getting settled in with the new renters, or should I say, getting the existing renters settled in with a new landlord. Today, I got a call from one of my renters, concerned that the rent would ... More About: A Real Estate , Estate , Real Estate , Real
Read Read Read Your RE Closing Docs
2008-01-02 21:49:00 Well, on New Year’s Eve, we closed on our 4 unit duplex deal. So now we have the title, and will begin collecting the rent. This was a good deal, but even so, you need to read your closing documents. The lawyer, the banker, the seller and my buyer all missed an important detail - ... More About: Read
Some Good Personal Finance Habits
2007-12-28 17:56:00 I saw this post and thought about my community. This post has input from users around the personal finance internet community and solid steps they took to getting their finances in order, as well as links to other articles that would be of help. Check it out and let me know what your thoughts are. read ... More About: Personal , Personal Finance , Finance , Habits , Good
Keep Plugging Until You Get to the Closing Table
2007-12-28 01:35:00 Docs, docs, docs. Lenders never seem to get enough documentation. And this was supposed to be a simple deal. Well, in theory, there are a lot things that are simple, but when you get down to actually doing it, things get a little hairy. My lender told me yesterday that they needed to have a ... More About: Table
Wrapping Up Your Real Estate Closing
2007-12-26 18:00:00 With Christmas, it has been tough to get my deal on the 4 units “wrapped” up. I talked with the lender today, and he is missing the appraisal, the insurance binder, and a letter of good standing from the state for the LLC we will be buying the property through. My lender needs at least ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Real , Wrap
Anyone Finding Any Good Real Estate Deals?
2007-12-21 17:26:00 No doubt about it, December is a great time of the year to buy into real estate. My current deal involving 2 duplexes is coming along nicely. We are hoping to close before the end of the year. This will be a real income booster to my investors and myself for the coming year. Merry ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Real , Good
Renegotiating During Your Option Period
2007-12-19 20:17:00 Its a tough thing, but sometimes a real estate deal looks good on the outside, but after inspection it just doesn’t cut the mustard. This is exactly what happened in our current real estate deal. We put 5 units under 3 separate contracts, and 1 of those contracts was for a single family home. The ... More About: Period
Know the Players Involved in a Real Estate Transaction
2007-12-17 17:29:00 It has been an interesting day already. We have decided to drop the single family home and just buy the two duplexes. With 4 units, and the total contract price dropping significantly, we will still cash flow very well on this deal. But the interesting part came today, when I heard from my investor that ... More About: Players , A Real Estate , Estate , Real Estate , Real
Real Estate Deals: Knowing When to Walk Away
2007-12-13 18:10:00 On my current 5 unit real estate deal, we discovered that the single family home that was a part of the deal had serious structural damage. This is the value that a quality home inspector will bring you. The damage could easy cost $30-40k, and the deal just doesn’t have enough built into it to ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Real , Knowing , Walk
Futures
2007-12-12 23:09:00 “How do you feel about futures options? Have you dabbled in that? I find future to be much more predictable in cyclical studies…” To answer questions, I have done a few trades in futures. I am using the term futures to define any expiration beyond 4 months. My largest problem with futures is that it seems ... More About: Futures
Coordination When Closing Real Estate
2007-12-11 19:45:00 When you are buying or selling real estate, there is often several players involved in the transaction. Home inspectors, termite inspectors, appraisers, surveyors, lenders, real estate agents, buyers, sellers, renters, escrow agents, and lawyers are among some of the parties involved. It is a pretty good situation for almost everyone involved, except for the renter. ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Real
Real Estate Closing Process
2007-12-10 15:58:00 If you own property, you probably know just how hard it is to get a contract closed, especially if you are an agent, and not the buyer. There are so many lender requirements these days that it makes it very difficult to get a property closed. And if time is of the essence in your ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Real , Process
Update on My Real Estate Activities
2007-12-07 01:56:00 It has been a hard week, but a good one. As I mentioned in my December Lull for Property Managers, it is a tough time of the year to be marketing properties, however it is an excellent time of year to be buying. I also mentioned there that I had a negotiation going on 5 ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Activities , Update , Real
December Lull for Property Managers
2007-12-04 17:55:00 No doubt about it, December is probably the worst month for real estate. The kids are finishing up their final examinations at school. Christmas is coming, and the family will be heading out of town to go to Grandma’s house to celebrate the season. December is a time to be with your family, and almost ... More About: Property , Managers , Prop , Pert
Put Spreads
2007-12-03 16:57:00 In my last options posting, I talked about call spreads. Put spreads are remarkably similar except that you are expecting a downturn in that underlying security. Put spreads, like call spreads, minimize the risk to the investor, because they allow your initial investment to be reduced. Note here that it is important to always use ... More About: Spreads
Estimate Car Payments
2007-11-30 18:02:00 If you want to estimate car payments before you buy a new or used car, you’ve found the right page. I have compiled a spreadsheet that you can download and put in the specifics of your situation and calculate a payment that will be very close to what your actual payment might look like. This ...
Ramifications of Making Payments on a Car
2007-11-29 17:13:00 I have a friend, who recently traded in a used car that he owed less than $2,000 on for a newer used car that he is now making payments of $400 per month. The reason behind the decision, as he told me, was that he was in financial trouble, and the car he had needed ...
Home Construction Loan Basics
2007-11-28 16:33:00 If you are looking to build your own house, and don’t have the cash to finance the construction, you will probably be considering a home construction loan. The following are facts about home construction loans, and the two basic ways that lenders handle this situation: Standalone Home Construction Loan A standalone home construction loan is the simplest construction ... More About: Basics
5 Car Buying Considerations
2007-11-27 18:29:00 Buying a car can be a daunting task. If you are looking to buy a new or used car, then you need to consider these 5 things (listed in order of importance in my opinion) before making the decision to purchase: Reliability I have found that domestic cars and trucks tend to have higher maintenance costs and ... More About: Buying , Car Buying , Consider
Lease Option to Buy
2007-11-26 16:40:00 Today, I want to do a follow up on an article I posted awhile back covering Residential Lease Options. If you have been following this blog for any length of time, you will understand that I work in real estate, and have a passion for investing. If you don’t already know the secret to real ...
Real Estate Flyer
2007-11-23 19:05:00 In this edition of Personal Finance Resources, I am going to show you one of the flyers I put together for a piece of property I am managing. I am using this flyer in an advertising campaign right now, so this a real live example. I used Microsoft’s Publisher to put the flyer together, and was ... More About: Estate , Real Estate , Flyer , Real
Turkey Day Real Estate Investments
2007-11-22 18:50:00 Working on potential real estate investments is totally fascinating, and finding deals that fit a profitable formula is both extremely challenging, and extremely rewarding. Currently, I am working on a deal with a local realtor who is also a real estate investor here in Belton/Temple TX. He is trying to get out of the property management ... More About: Turkey , Estate , Real Estate , Real , Investments
Spending to Saving: Making the Change
2007-11-21 16:49:00 To really obtain wealth and/or financial freedom, there must be a change in our mindset. From our youth in America, we are taught to spend, spend, spend and pay for it later. The concept of having it all — right now is what most everyone wants in this country. Unfortunately, unless you have an 80″ ... More About: Change , Spending , Saving
StarTex Power Comments
More articles from this author:2007-11-20 17:19:00 In this addition, I would like to just give some comments on how I feel about StarTex Power . StarTex Power is a Texas Electrical Retailer (read more on Texas Electricity Rates), and has been growing since deregulation. I am a customer and would like to share just a few comments with my readers today. StarTex Power ... More About: Comments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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