I recently read this headline and thought is this a true statement? After pondering the question “Why is it smart to buy real estate now” I concluded that in fact this is a true statement. Here are the reasons why.

1. Prices of most homes have dropped significantly and in some areas as much as 75%. What this means is the only direction for prices going forward is up. Will prices of homes drop lower, perhaps, but just like trying to time the stock market, it is difficult to time the real estate market.

Here in California and specifically in Contra Costa County (where I live), prices data shows we hit the bottom in 2008 and have been going up ever since. Inventories in certain price ranges have dropped and we are seeing days on market decreasing to less than three months.

That doesn’t mean that we will see home prices skyrocket to unrealistic levels as we had in the mid 2000’s. But what it does mean, those in the know and are buying homes now.

2. Interest rates are the lowest they will ever be. They can’t and won’t stay in the 4% to 5% range forever and the prediction is that interest rates will start to go up on 2011. Looking back to 2003 thru 2007 interest rates were in the 6.25% range and actually crept close to 7%. At that time, everyone was excited because just a few years prior to this time period interest rates were up to 8.5%. So when the rates dropped under 7%, it caused a big stir in the market. So rates in the 4% range are unprecedented and should be taken advantage of right now.

Real Estate is an asset and a valuable one which savvy investors understand. There are investors in our area in California that are buying blocks of homes. It was unheard of to find homes in the $200K range, but there were plenty to go around over the past year to year and a half. These investors may rent them now, but look to reap the fortunes in the future – and probably not the too distant future – when prices go back up.

This is also a fantastic opportunity for the first time home buyer. You can get so much more home for your money and in areas that may have been out of reach for many.

If you are on the fence waiting for the right time, this may be the right time.

Linda Urbick – real estate professional serving clients in the purchase and sale of homes in the Contra Costa County area of California. For information on the market or real estate in general, visit my web site lindaurbick.com and send me an email.

Understanding real estate agreements requires a basic knowledge of what rights or interest to property that are affected by a specific agreement or contract. The following is a basic listing of rights that are commonly dealt with and general descriptions. The following listing does not represent a complete list of the various rights that can be held in and to real estate, nor does it give a thorough and full description of the rights covered, but it is sufficient for practical purposes.

A bundle of rights to real estate could include:

a. All the rights, fee simple

b. Mineral rights

c. Air rights

d. Water rights

e. Life estate

f. Remainder interest

g. Equitable rights

1. Land contract

2. Leasehold

3. Option

4. Pending purchase contract

OWNERSHIP- Fee Simple Ownership. This is the highest form of ownership to property. Generally if you have real estate that you have received a warranty deed for, this is what you have.

EQUITABLE INTERESTS- These is rights that are acquired by agreement of the owner, without transferring ownership. In other words, if you have an equitable interest in real estate, you may have the right to acquire title and ownership, but you don’t have it yet. Typical examples of equitable interests are the rights of the purchaser under a full accepted purchase agreement, the rights of an optionee under an option agreement and the rights of the purchaser (vendee) under a land contract.

LEASEHOLD INTEREST- These is the rights to property for duration of time with no promise to transfer ownership. Rental/leasing applies here as well as use licensing.

OWNERSHIP INTERESTS- Ownership to property is a combination of things and rights, and you can own property and not have all parts of ownership and vice versa. These are the basic parts or types of the ownership of real estate: Legal, Equitable, Possession and Use. Legal interest is normally evidenced by having title to the property. Equitable interest is described above. Possession is simply having possession or control of the property. For example, a “squatter” is a person who has possession, but no other rights to the property. “Squatters,” simply by virtue of being in possession of the property have certain rights. Use, is simply the right to use the property. A typical example of this is a letter of permission to hunt on land.

Places you can go to better find out how you can use these buddle of interest and learn more at a very low cost are as follows: Local real estate licensing schools in your area, entrepreneurial resource centers at local colleges, Real Estate Investing Clubs, Real Estate Investment Association, REIAs, Real Estate Investing Classes at high school, Real Estate Investing Groups, Landlord Club, Real Estate Training Classes, Real Estate Seminars, Real Estate Courses, Real Estate Investing Network, and Real Estate Forums. Use Google.com to find locations in your area.

A Real Estate Investing Club’s mission is to provide an entrepreneurial atmosphere for real estate investors to learn, and network with new and experienced investors. Real Estate Investors Clubs have been formed for real estate entrepreneurs and professionals with one of their goals to bring like minded individuals together, to achieve greater real estate goals. REIA members come from many walks of life: first time buyers, new investors, licensed agents and mortgage brokers, commercial investors, attorneys, CPAs, and first time landlords.

Copyright (c) 2007 Ralph Maupin

Ralph Marcus Maupin, Jr. (Mark Maupin), Speaker, Professor, Co-founder National Real Estate Network LLC (REIA), Get Free Real Estate Forms, Terms, Articles and Real Estate Club Locations at: http://MegaEveningEvent.com

It is hard to turn around these days without finding someone who over-leveraged themselves in the last real estate boom by taking on an aggressive debt-to-equity ratio while the market was high. Many property owners find themselves “upside down,” owing more on their property than it is currently worth.

However, a percentage of real estate investors have a diverse real estate portfolio, with some performing and some non-performing properties. For these investors, 2011 may be an excellent time to tighten your portfolio.

First, interest rates are “still” low. Prior to these recent amazingly low offerings below 4% and 5%, consumers had not seen interest rates as low since the 1960’s. Close to 30 years. If you have not locked a fixed rate fully amortized loan on your homes and income properties, you will be grateful to yourself for locking them in now.

Second, the next Southern California real estate “boom” is probably at least a decade away. That means any non-performing properties in your portfolio are not going to suddenly start making money simply because of a market rise… soon.

Finally, if you are able to free up equity as you tighten your portfolio, there may be exciting places to reinvest both in real estate and other sectors over the next few years.

If your real estate investment portfolio includes cash flow negative income properties, and you have been wondering whether to sell or hold, first look for a solution that creates cash flow or at least allows you to break even. If such a solution is not available, and you are not comfortable covering the negative cash flow for the next several years, 2011 may be a great time to let that asset go and focus your resources elsewhere.

Joan Weisman, is a fourth generation California native and has been active in Real Estate since 1998. She is SFR Certified with the National Association of Realtors. As your agent, Joan is efficient, effective and on your side.

Ms. Weisman is a past President of her Toastmasters club (July 2009 – Dec 2010) and is currently serving as Area G-5 Governor for Toastmasters International (July 2010 – June 2011). She is a member of the National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, and the Local Southern California Multiple Listing Service.

Real Estate Investors are in for a tougher time in 2011 unless they adapt their current methods of investing. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news today but there’s some data I have in my hands that I must reveal to you.

Short Sale flips are tougher to do than ever. There simply aren’t enough people who can get bank loans to “cash you out” once you get your short sale approval from the bank. Plus title companies are very strict on disclosing back to back flips to both the “A” and “C” lenders. Anyone who’s an active short sale flipper knows this is getting tougher to do.

Rehab flips are tougher to do than ever. Title problems and “robo-signing” scandals have tainted the title to many properties and caused uncertainty about the quality of title when buying an REO. On top of that buyers must have a 700+ credit score on average to qualify for a FHA loan plus a down payment. This means there are less buyer’s to “cash you out” using FHA loans.

Most leads that you will generate into your real estate business will be houses with little or no equity. So if you are an “equity” wholesaler you will have trouble getting “equity” leads in 2011. My prediction is that this is just 5% of the deals I’ll do in 2011.80 -100 million people – roughly 30% of our entire population cannot qualify for a traditional bank loan. Cool thing is there’s a “golden opportunity” that’s been created because of tighter bank lending standards.Credit is expected to tighten in 2011, not loosen, according to Inside Mortgage Finance magazine.

Look at these statistics 10.7 million home owners have no equity according to CoreLogic. Another 4.3 million have very little equity. They are 87% – 100% leveraged. The FHA short refi program has helped just 3 people in 4 months. Just ask the FHA. *52% of all HAMP loan modifications “fall out” within 6 months. Just ask Obama. He knows.

So where are the real estate investment opportunities in 2011? What can you do about this and still be a successful investor in 2011? The answer: Go where the money is and diversify into strategies that do not require banks at all.

There are four simple, fast, safe and easy ways for you to make money that don’t require any banks whatsoever that you can profit from any type of property. Houses with equity, houses with no equity and no default (which are most common) and over-leveraged houses in foreclosure (short sales).The investment strategies are proven and have been used by astute investors since 2004. Just now in late 2010 and 2011 they really going to “blast off” because of the current state of the financial markets.

These four techniques will enable investors to continue to profit for many years to come. Some investors are finding that they can get cash now, cash flow each month, and then cash out down the road without ever owning the home. These types of leads are everywhere and require little to no marketing costs on your part to obtain. This is the easiest, fastest way to make money in real estate with no money, bad credit, and no loans for you or your buyers. So position yourself and your business for massive success in 2011 without any banks, FHA loans, private money or government programs using new “Cash Infusion” strategies.

I personally think the jokers at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA are not all bad guys. They just are in over their heads. A recent Fannie Mae study showed 54% of the people surveyed want to buy a home in 2011. They realize there are lower prices than ever out there. Problem is with the current Fannie and Freddie and FHA guidelines they simply won’t qualify. So how are you going to use this to your advantage?

Duncan Wierman teaches how investors how to take their business to new levels using creative marketing methods and strategies. Find out more about real estate investing cash strategies http://www.duncanwierman.com/strategies-for-2011 or marketing at http://www.duncanwierman.com/blog

U. S. Real Estate Buzz

This short overview of our current economic and real estate conditions is what I think, presented in a simplistic, broad-brush narrative of the affairs that lead us to where we are today with some realistic long term ideas to prosperity and solid economic recovery and growth.

History

First, we know every industry is like the tide each with it’s own ebbs and flows. To be certain the real estate market is experiencing these changes, so in many respects this is very normal. The real estate industries ebb and flow is generally 10 to 12 years. The last time we hit bottom was at or around 1995-1997. What’s not normal is how dramatic this occurrence really is. The ripple effect is clearly worldwide, which illustrates this is not just a real estate problem but a financial one also. We did have a disastrous real estate market in the mid to late 1970’s, which, resembles much of what we’re going through today but it was more of a national problem than worldwide.

Current

The current state of our economy is a direct result of several factors that have been building for many years. The main contributing factor in my estimation, which is usually the case, is government policies. What government does and or does not do effects all us in profound ways, such as raising taxes, creating regulations, and spending policies to name a few, and of course politics; in short this is social engineering. The courses of action our politicians adopt have a direct effect on how we live our lives, how we invest money and what we invest in. Investors invest in assets that will make them money or provide them the means to do so.

For the past 5 to 6 years, the real estate market had been flooded with new home buyers previously renters, along with many “step-up” home buyers. Financing was very easy to get for most people, many of who perhaps should have never had it so easy. With that, poor spending habits ensued throughout the general population, in other word’s we were acquiring large amounts of debt without the income to match. Many businesses such as the financial institutions also had their fair share of shady dealings. Additionally, Governments at all levels were doing the same thing. They’ve never seen this kind of money come in at such a fast pace and of course with policies put in place years before you get an economic condition, i.e. government spending, regulations, taxes & fees that couldn’t be absorbed anymore by the general population, corporations and the financial institutions. A very serious unstable market had been created.

Finally, if all the previous spending wasn’t enough, the government went on a monumental spending binged over the past 10 months dragging the economy further down. Now you may ask why is this so important? It’s because everything the government does, as I have said, has a profound effect on each and every one of us. Why? Investors and investments! It’s no accident that we have the most dynamic and advanced economy in the world. The United States embraced an open market place long ago where investors, influential people, empire builders and entrepreneurs alike have the freedom to invest their money, products and ideas into our system. No other place in the world can you do this quite the same way.
The problem is over the past 20 or so years corporate regulation and tax burdens are out of control, Influence on public employees to do favors has never been so far-reaching and nearly 50 % of the population doesn’t pay income taxes. The country has been changing in ways, which leads the Movers & Shakers to rethinking their investment strategies. Earning money has some how now become a bad thing politically. Be clear making money is a good thing and should never be frowned upon. Not withstanding unethical and illegal activities.

The Investor class of people are very astute, and rests assure they are watching everything going on, and until they see clear skies ahead they will either remain on the sideline or invest elsewhere. Several things in the near term need to happen before we can see clear skies.

Solutions

• The financial markets need to finish cleaning-up their books with their bad debts, which will lead to improved lending.
• Taxes in all forms including “pass-through taxes” such as the new Cap & Trade energy tax cannot go up and or be implemented as they are scheduled too. Congress must keep this from happening.
• Congress must repeal the planned stimulus-spending bill, which will go into high gear just after the 2010 elections.
• Commercial real estate, nationwide, is headed for huge loan defaults unless something allows the property owners a way to refinance without adding cash equity into the asset we will see more than 700 Billion dollars of loan defaults; this will be ugly.
• Interest rates must remain low and balanced with possible inflation and deflation conditions.

Once the above happens and or moves in that direction businesses can once again begin their empire building, which leads to growth, which will spark employment, which will allow mom & pop investments to occur. Remember 80% of jobs are from small businesses. The employment market must be stabilized! Then the residential housing market can go into a full recovery swing that will promote a more stable economy. We believe residential real estate will lead commercial real estate out of this recession. Additionally, Multifamily will lead the way in the commercial market.Long term, we need to be concerned with public policy and the spending that comes with it. It is my opinion; we should embrace and employ a whole new breed of Entrepreneurship along with a core focus on Research & Development in all of our industries. This type of R&D spending will help ensure future growth of our economy. In order to have a strong real estate marketplace we need a strong economy. In order to have a strong economy we need good public representatives.
The people of this great country need to understand, we will be better served to plan the future many, many years ahead of time should we plan to continue to lead the way for the rest. We have a great economic system and therefore the promotion of such a system should be pursued.

Bright Side

• Loan defaults will spark a lot of buying with new money.
• By 2010-11 we should be on our way to recovery and out of this mess by 2013 as long as government policies improve.
• Interest rates should remain low for a little while.
• Our country has always bounced back each time we’ve gone through recessionary periods.

When you are considering the purchase of Orange County real estate, you will want to learn everything that you can about the history, different areas, and basic facts about the area. The purchase of any real estate property is the largest financial investment that most people will ever make, and the right investment can go a long way towards creating a more secure financial future.

If you have never purchased a home before, you will likely have many questions about how the home buying process works and what your next steps should be. The right Orange County real estate agent can help you to answer these questions and more, and should be your primary resource as you make the transition from renter to property owner.

Orange County is the second most populous county in California, and is known for its tourism, including world famous attractions like Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm, as well as its miles of beautiful beaches. Thirty-four incorporated cities make up the area, with the largest and the oldest being Anaheim. The newest city, Aliso Viejo, was incorporated in 2001. Several unincorporated cities are located in the area as well, and while not officially part of the county, do provide more options for home seekers.

While the area is known for its tourism, it is also the headquarters for many large companies, including several Fortune 500 companies. The city of Irvine, in particular, is home to Edwards Lifesciences, Epicor, Standard Pacific, Marie Callendar’s, Weinerschnitzel, and others. Orange County is also home to several shopping malls including the world renowned South Coast Plaza, located in Costa Mesa. South Coast is the third largest mall in the United States, and receives approximately 24 million visitors each year.

When searching for the right real estate property, there are many factors to consider. These include, but are not limited to your budget, housing needs, proximity of your new home to schools and businesses, and which cities or neighborhoods you prefer to live in. These are all things that your real estate agent will take into account when it comes to helping you find the right home for you. Orange County is a popular place to live and work, and its close proximity to Los Angeles makes it the ideal place to live for many people. Taking the time to find the right agent and to identify your needs as the home buyer is the first step towards finding the Orange County home of your dreams.

Visit our site to search Orange county real estate listings, foreclosures and view other information about Southern California real estate information.