Home and Real Estate

You may be wondering if the title of real estate consultant is a meaningful one, and if it indicates anything different from the same old licensed real estate brokers with a vested interest in the fate of a property. While it is true that anyone can call himself or herself a consultant, the term is not meaningless window dressing. For those who take their real estate consulting business seriously, it represents a different model, a different approach to real estate practice.

The first and most important difference is objectivity. Whereas a real estate broker typically is paid contingent on an outcome-in other words, they receive a commission-a real estate consultant is paid solely for their expertise. They have no stake in the outcome. Salespeople are paid only for getting a result-a sale. Real estate consultants are paid for their expert advice only, and by design have no stake in achieving a particular outcome to a particular transaction. This gives them the capacity to be more objective and inherently more trustworthy than a traditional real estate salesperson. Think about it-even the most honest salesperson will unconsciously try to steer you toward a sale. After all, that’s where their pay comes from-from selling! The consultant is paid the way other professional advisors or service professionals like CPAs are, with a retainer regardless of outcome.

Consulting can involve a variety of skills and areas of expertise. You can hire a consultant for legal advice, market research, or to locate possible properties to invest in, among other things. Since they are paid as much for their time if they advise you that there are no properties in an area worth investing in as if they advise you of dozens of viable properties, they have no stake in anything except giving you the best advice possible. After all, their future business depends on word-of-mouth endorsements from investors like you.

If you are looking for properties to invest in, a real estate consultant can tip you off to developer closeouts and bulk opportunities, equity partnerships, joint ventures, and possibly even some very unique and profitable turnkey investment opportunities. The consultant is selling information and expertise, and therefore can provide you with a layer of insulation between you and the people selling the properties. They can work out a lot of the details and business prospects of a property before you have to talk to a salesperson. Once you face the salesperson, you can approach the negotiation fully armed with an array of appropriate information, and thus avoid being bamboozled and negotiate from a position of strength.

If, on the other hand, you are selling properties, especially if you have a lot of properties to sell, a real estate consultant can help you create a strategy to sell the units before you get involved with actual salespeople, which can have many advantages. For example, you can sell a lot of properties in a relatively short time without creating the appearance of a bulk sale by having a real estate consultant distribute the properties among several different sellers.

When it comes time to put the family home up for sale, the first thing most people do is call an estate agent. However, times are changing and more and more Australians are giving the do it yourself approach to home selling a try. And the fact is it is hard to blame them. Selling your home without the help of an estate agent saves thousands of dollars and there are plenty of great internet resources to help you if you need it.

Saving money is the biggest reason sellers are turning to “for sale by owner”. The average commission paid to an estate agent is a whopping $15,000 per sale. You may also have to pay anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 in advertising and marketing costs. That is an awful lot of money to lose.

Savings aside, the FSBO seller has so much more control over the whole sale process, according to Shane Pettiona, chief operating officer of Homesales.com.au. The seller gets feedback from potential sellers first hand, nothing gets lost to “agent speak”. The FSBO seller always knows who’s interested in their place and what’s really going on.

Opting to not use an agent does not mean that home sellers are totally alone though. There are a number of internet resources that are designed to help do it yourself sellers. A quick Google search should net you many more. These services offer the homeowner help with everything from pricing their home correctly to choosing and implementing the right marketing tactics. These services are not free of course but $599 for a Premium” package is still a great deal over those agent’s commissions.

Vendors do face pitfalls that have to be avoided though. There are two main areas where FSBO sellers can run into trouble – setting the wrong asking price and then failing to present the property in the best light possible.

Because the seller has an emotional as well a financial investment in their home pricing it sensibly can be difficult. That is why it is recommended that they obtain an independent valuation. A professional valuation is really the only way to ensure a home is really priced to sell.

Marketing the home the right way is crucial and for most for sale by owner sellers the internet is the place to do that. Although the big real estate listing sites like realestate.com.au do not always accept listings from private sellers directly DIY websites will help their clients get their homes onto those sites and quickly visible to interested buyers.

Inspections themselves can be tricky things as well. If there are a lot of interested parties an open house may be in order. Butterss says should you opt to do that the house should be open for an hour or so and potential buyers should be allowed to walk around the home without being tailed by the owners. He also recommends that sellers should not show the house alone and professional dress and manners are essential as well.

Negotiating is another skill that FSBO sellers may have to learn as they go along. It is rare that an initial offer will meet the asking price so sellers do have to decide “how low they’ll go” and develop a clear plan for dealing with any and all offers that come their way.

Contrary to the belief of some, a real estate syndicate has nothing at all to do with Don Corleone. Take it from me – or my name is not Luigi.

The real estate investment market is becoming more and more complex and, as a result, the traditional boundaries between different investment activities are changing. If someone is interested in buying or selling an interest in land, he generally seeks help from a real estate expert. If someone wants to buy or sell a common stock, he seeks the services of a securities expert. During the past decade there has been a growth of new forms of investment vehicles, the most common of which are known as ‘syndicates’. Syndicates are used in conjunction with many types of assets including real estate, R & D, purchase and management of hotels and motels, oil and gas exploration, livestock and agricultural development to name a few. Specifically as it refers to real estate syndicates, in its simplest definition this term is applied to any form of organization which allows two or more investors to participate in the ownership of an interest in real estate.

In the syndicate, the real estate asset is divided into two or more ‘investment units’ which are acquired by the individual investors. It is important to realize that the investment unit refers to the particular asset that is acquired by the investors, and not the underlying real property itself. The precise nature of the investment unit will depend on the form of the syndicate. In essence, investment units represent a fractionalized ownership of one or more interests in real property rather than direct ownership of an entire interest. While real estate syndicates are formed for a variety of reasons, the typical reason is to create a tax shelter. At the base of the syndicate is the relationship among investors. In all real estate syndicates there is some form of contract specifying the relationship intercurring between the individual investors and the underlying interest in real property.

Despite the multitude of forms, the structure of a real estate syndicate is invariably based upon one of the following six legal relationships: co-ownership, divided ownership, corporation, trust, general partnership and limited partnership. In addition, there are three central participants, or sets of participants, as follows:

[ ] the syndicator or promoter who creates the syndicate in the first place;

[ ] the syndicate manager who manages the syndication and who, often times, is the promoter as well;

[ ] the investors who purchase the investment units.

Moreover, a number of other experts are used that are unrelated to the syndication, such as managers, appraisers, builders, leasing agents and mortgage lenders. In some cases the syndicator may buy the property before creating the syndicate organization. In other cases, the syndicate investment units may be marketed before the real property is acquired.

The allocation of profits and expenses is typical of the real estate industry. For instance, there are ‘front-end’ fees to cover initial expenses for the formation of the syndicate such as:

[ ] mark-up profit on lands sold to the syndicate by the syndicator, if he advanced the initial capital to purchase real estate.

[ ] Real estate commissions on sales to the syndicate by the syndicator.

[ ] Percentage of the initial funds raised by the syndicator.

[ ] Fees for services rendered.

[ ] Fees for guarantees, such as cash-flow guarantees or construction guarantees.

As to the return and liquidity, each investor is entitled to the proportionate share of all leases, rents, resale of the syndicate interests in land and, of course, each investor will have to consider different tax shelter possibilities offered by the six different legal organizations of syndicates. Last but not least, liquidity is an essential factor from an investors perspective, in that investors may want to transfer investment units or portion thereof to someone else at a later date.

There are at times situations wherein a direct ownership in land is neither beneficial nor convenient, and an indirect ownership by way of investment units may be more appropriate. Likewise, as it is the case more and more with large hotel consortiums, original capitalization is done by selling ‘interest shares’ – the equivalent of investment units – to private investors, with the balance of the initial funding obtained by institutional lenders and secured by the real property. Nowadays syndicators have gone as far as raising money in the stock market by selling futures stocks of edifications to come, typically large high-rise and residential towers that cluster the downtown core of practically every metropolis in North America.

Luigi Frascati

A real estate contract is for the purchase or sale, exchange, or other trade of real estate between two or more individuals or parties. Real estate, also called leasehold estate, is essentially a rental of real property, and rental contracts cover rentals, since they normally do not result in recordable deeds. Freehold trade of real estate that are generally more permanent, are dealt with by real estate contracts, and they include dealings in the title fees, life estates, remainder estates and freehold property. Real estate contracts are usually bilateral contracts, where terms are agreed upon mutually by both parties and should have the legal prerequisites specified by the contract law in writing.

Any real estate contract must have certain details well written to avoid further misconception and misunderstanding. These details include a proper identification of both parties between whom the exchange of real estate property will take place. A clear description of the both parties is required as well, as their intentions for the deal. A clear description of the real estate property must be made in the contract, including the address of the estate and other details as agreed upon by both parties. The price that the estate is being sold to the buyer and the terms of payment must also be clearly quoted to avoid misinterpretations. The signatures of both parties are mandatory on the contract, but it must be noted that this is voluntary, and no one can be forced to sign a contract.

There has to be a mutual agreement on all terms of the contract by both parties in the contract, which is monitored by the lawyer under whose supervision the contract is made.

The real estate market offers a host of opportunities for investors, seeking to put their money into an investment that enhances its value in the years to come and which gives them value for money invested in the future. Real estate is not just inclusive of land, it also includes building, fences, wells and other immovable site improvements.

This industry has various businesses and these are appraisal, property management, investing, corporate, brokerages and land development. Any investment in this field requires a sound understanding of real estate terms and legal conditions that apply for the specific type of property that is being invested.

Market conditions greatly influence the price of property and the purchase and sale of real estate largely depends on them. When buying property, it is necessary to make a 20 percent to 35 percent down payment and in addition to this other expenses such as carrying costs, closing costs and renovation costs. The properties can be purchased through a loan, but it is vital to check out loan condition and down payment options before opting for it. Loan interest rates are currently high, so it is important to check out repayment options so that minimal amount of money is spent on the loan and the interest amount. It is important to have a good credit history to take a loan and the simplest form of property that a person can buy is a home.

The real estate market is a diverse one, with many investment options being available for investors. It is important to learn about various types of properties before making an investment so that you make exactly the kind of investment that you prefer. Property agents are the best option for those looking towards buying a specific property type, under a specific price range.