Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
For landlords, there’s nothing worse than having to evict a troublesome tenant. The screening process is an essential safeguard from the tenant of your nightmares. An applicant may seem to be an upright citizen, but don’t let appearances fool you. Be sure to ask the same questions and verify specific information consistently to save yourself from a lot of hassle down the road. Click the link below to read the 4 must-do steps.
From:: Property Management
The repossessed Hillsboro Executive Center and a nearby lot of land in Deerfield Beach were sold for $21 million to an Atlanta area investor.
American General Life Insurance Co., which is part of AIG, seized the office park at 800 Fairway Drive in 2012 after foreclosing on a $27.5 million mortgage with AEW Capital. In September, the insurance company acquired the 1.8-acre vacant site on the east side of the building for $600,000 from Hillsboro Technology Center, an affiliate of Butters Construction… …read more
From:: biz journal foreclosures
DIY touches, from a textured table runner to turned wood candlesticks, lend this spirited eating area welcome warmth …read more
From:: DIY this old house
All of us in the business of property management wish there were more hours in the day to complete our work. Yet as the old saying goes “Time waits for no one…” and few have time to waste. Yes, more time is often what we want most, observed William Penn, “…but what we use worst.” By carefully managing the time that we have allotted to, we can at least make the most of each hour.
Before examining some of the technical solutions for property management time efficiency, let’s examine some of the time-saving ideas that all of us can practice. Some are amazingly simple!
First, examine carefully how you’re currently using each hour of your day. Do you notice any patterns where you’re using a large amount of time and getting the least amount of productivity? You may have heard of The Pareto Principle, also known as “The 80/20 Principle.” In essence, it suggests that 20% of our time is employed producing 80% of our accomplishments. There are many variations of this principle, but the main idea implies that on average we’re only using 20% of our time to create 80% of our results in life. (For a complete understanding I encourage you to read the book The 80/20 Principle: The Secret of Achieving More with Less by Richard Koch). Realize that 80 percent of all our results in business and in life derive from just 20 percent of our efforts. That’s why the 80/20 principle is one of the great secrets of highly effective people and organizations.
No wonder many time management consultants believe that when we increase the amount of time we spend doing activities that are the most worthwhile to us, our success will soar exponentially! This usually means spending less time each day reading emails, answering text messages, or dealing with tedious management tasks that could easily be delegated to an assistant. Capture those extra hours to do what brings us the most satisfaction and the best outcomes. It’s a big leap forward in your quest to use your time more efficiently.
Next, talk to companies that sell or lease the latest, most effective time management technologies for property managers. Ask colleagues, professional acquaintances or local businesses for referrals as well. Rental property management software is evolving rapidly. The best ones let you automate countless time consuming tasks, so you have more time to spend on activities that really matter.
What would you rather be doing, coordinating routine property maintenance or prospecting for more clients? Do you really want to be involved with screening prospective renters? Wouldn’t you rather have the time to stay in touch with your owner clients, key personnel and be available to approve important projects? Your answers partly depend on your personal priorities. It’s easy to be distracted with minutia and time-wasters. Drill down and be aware of what and who are your biggest time-wasting activities and people. Then decide you don’t have time to waste! Do you find yourself frequently procrastinating on this vitally important topic? …read more
From:: Property Management
Peel-and-stick reclaimed wood veneers, a washable rug, easy-on, easy-off wallpaper, and other fine offerings to make a house a home …read more
From:: DIY this old house
Our pros share their picks of festive plants for garlands, wreaths, table settings, and more …read more
From:: DIY this old house
By U.S. News
Filed under: Buying, Investing
You’ve found the perfect house in the cutest neighborhood. And you’re tired of writing a rent check every month, with nothing to show for it. All that’s keeping you from making an offer on your first home is that big down payment.
So is it OK to use your 401(k) account to buy your first home? Before making that decision, you need to decide if it makes more sense to keep your money in your 401(k)’s stocks and mutual funds, or if you’ll make more money in the long term by shifting that money to your primary residence.
Weighing Your Options
Real estate is just starting to recover after the bubble burst on prices during the Great Recession, but it’s a hot investment right now: The National Association of Realtors says the median price for existing single-family homes is $229,400 — up 8.2 percent from the previous year.
That outperforms nearly anything that you’d find in target-date funds that are included in many 401(k) plans; for instance, the Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 fund (ticker: VFIFX), for those who are planning to retire about 2050, has returns of 1 percent in the last year.
Of course, a one-year snapshot doesn’t tell the whole story. The markets are in a six-year bull run, but returns are lower this year because of August’s correction and concerns that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. Fidelity says its average 401(k) account dropped from $91,100 to $84,400 in the third quarter.
Robbing Peter to Pay Paul
It comes down to a decision, financial advisors say, between trying to increase your long-term investment portfolio through your home or through the stock market, mutual funds and bonds held in a 401(k).
Andrea Heuson, finance professor at the University of Miami, says a 401(k) is a better investment vehicle because investors can choose where to invest their money, and they have the ability to get to it quickly in an emergency.
“That is probably not a wise economic decision [to dip into your retirement] simply because, from an investment standpoint, a 401(k) gives you much more flexibility as an investor than a house does,” she says.
Taking money from your 401(k) also comes with a big penalty, unless you’ve turned 59 1/2. Investors can expect to pay tax of 10 percent, which means that money is already lost before the initial transaction. And by draining 401(k) accounts, buyers could also miss out on the magic of compounding interest.
“If it’s not one of the worst things you can do, it’s close,” says Chris Copley, a regional sales manager for TD Bank in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Copley says there is seldom a time where he would recommend that a client liquidate a 401(k) account. “That would be an occasion with special circumstances,” he says, adding that potential buyers should be able to put 3 percent down plus cover closing costs without dipping into their retirement accounts. If they don’t have …read more
From:: Buying and Selling
Pop-up workbench? Check. Flexible sandpaper? Yup. A plastic welder? Indeed. And many more items to stock the garage …read more
From:: DIY this old house
