One of the things that Zero to Valued will help any new investor do is find cheap houses to buy,remodel, then flip for a ridiculous profit. All without taking out equity loans, or going into tons of debt.
Let’s focus on finding some killer project houses for cheap. When I mean cheap I mean affordable. Less than a price I’d pay for a website. Head on over to Realtor.com and do a search for homes in your area under 20,000.
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I was watching TV late at night one evening when on came a guy who was trying to order doors over the internet. The company wouldn’t sell to him at a wholesale price. So what was the guy to do but setup a website,get a new phone #, and claim to be a company looking to order the very same doors. And guess what? He got those doors at a much discounted rate and ended up saving a whole lot. Even with the time spent building a website.
So if you are looking to save a few bucks setup a website, and start making calls I bet ya you can get a discounted/wholesale rate and save a bundle on improving your house.
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In parts of the world where there are four seasons, a lot of people find themselves dreaming of owning oceanfront property during the dead of the winter. More than actually using the property for themselves, it could also serve as a source of income. After all, beach houses for rent can be in demand at certain times and can fetch a good price! For those of you who can actually afford to own property at the beach, here are some questions you should ask – they can help you find the perfect beach getaway.
How close is the house to the beach? Think about it. When going to the beach, you probably look for accommodations right on the beach. If you can’t find one, then you find something as close to the beach as possible. You also want rooms that have good views. Same thing for when you own a beach house.
How many can the house accommodate? When you do find yourself owning a beach house, you will find yourself having friends and family pestering you. The more the merrier, right? And, when you do rent out that house, you bet the people will be asking about capacity.
What other amenities are available? Does the property come with a pool? Or maybe there is a community pool? A recreation center? While people normally go to the beach for the sea, some like pools. It will be a plus to have such a feature available.
Of course, you’ll have other questions of your own, but this is a good place to start.
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If you have been in the market for a home in the recent months, you are probably ready to go ahead and make the purchase. If I were you, I would do everything that’s needed and expedite the process. That’s because you can take advantage of the Home Buyer Tax Credit if you have a binding contract to purchase a home BEFORE April 30 of this year!
If you already have options, then it is a matter of making a decision. If you need more options, then here are some tips that can help you get the benefit of a tax credit.
Find a reputable agent. A good agent will be able to help you expedite your home purchasing experience. For sure, agents know about the Home Buyer Tax Credit, and they will help you take advantage of it.
Get financing NOW. Don’t wait till you find a potential home for purchase. You should already know how much you can afford. There is nothing holding you back from getting financing. Oftentimes, this part of the process could take long. As such, you shouldn’t really put it off till the last minute. The best thing that you could do is have the money ready for when you find that house.
Don’t get carried away. Sure, I am urging you to take advantage of the tax credit by hurrying things up. However, if you do not find what you want before then, do not make that sacrifice just because of the tax credit. The credit is great BUT you don’t want to be saddled with a piece of property that you will want off your back as soon as you get it.
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It’s winter and slippery when wet signs bear more impact than any other time of the year. I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me that you’ve slipped more than once in your garage, although what you would be doing in your garage at this time of the year, I cannot imagine. As you might realize, I would rather be bundled up inside, warm and toasty.
Anyhow, if you have a slippery garage floor, here is what you can do to make it safer for everyone.
The basic idea is to add friction. Every engineer will tell you that friction is the solution for slippery surfaces, and a smooth concrete garage floor with some slush (probably from your car) cannot be any more slippery.
One thing that you can do is to get lots of non-slip tape from the hardware store. 3M is a tried and tested brand – get Safety-Walk. They have various degrees of coarseness, depending on what you need. For maximum grip, get the coarsest kind. The good thing about this tape is that you can put it practically anywhere. If your floor is not concrete (read: the porous kind), then you should buy primer first before applying the tape.
Of course, just because you have this tape does not mean that you should not clean up the surface of your garage floor. One major reason people slip is not only because of a friction-less surface – it’s because there are a lot of other things in the way. Your best bet is to make sure that your work area is clean and free of clutter!
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Here’s another post inspired by a slideshow I saw at MSN. This time, it’s about one of the most important rooms in the house: the bathroom. I don’t know about you, but I consider the bathroom to be very very important. It should be a place where you can relax and pamper yourself no matter what. According to experts, homeowners are starting to see their homes as a place where they can escape the harsh realities of life and the bathroom being turned into something like a spa is part of that. So here goes some of the bathrooms that may be dreams for now…
Space-age steam shower
Isn’t that gorgeous? I can already imagine myself spending hours in that shower. And why not? It has six water jets that can massage your body and they’re all fully adjustable, too! More so, the unit has controls for lighting and has a built-in FM radio as well as capabilities to be connected to your own sound system.
Luxury tubs
There are many of these in the market today, and they come in all shapes and sizes. I particularly like the idea of having a bottom that forms to fit your body shape. Name it, you’ll find it for sale somewhere. Just be prepared to pay the price.
Audio massage while you bathe
Taking a bath isn’t complete without music, is it? This bathtub from Kohler integrates music into the bathing experience. You may opt to choose from the settings or use your own mp3s to soothe the stresses of the day away. It also makes use of chromatherapy for added relaxation.
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Everyone has his own dream house. Whether or not this dream will ever come into fruition does not matter. After all, as they say, it is free to dream. I saw some houses at MSN today, though, and not in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined their existence. There are a total of 18 strange homes, which are located all over the world. Here are some of the most “interesting” ones.
Everingham Rotating House
Located in Taree, Australia, this house is built on a rotating drive which can spin the house anytime the inhabitants wish to do so. Now I can think of various reasons to want a different view at any time, but I just didn’t think that someone would actually go to such lengths so as to build something like this.
The Nautilus
One look at this house in Mexico City will tell you that it is no ordinary home. Shaped just like a seashell – and decorated like one, too! – it was designed by Javier Sensonian. He practices what he calls bio-architecture, which builds on the designs of natural creatures. He says it is enlightening.
Steel House
A trip to Lubbock, Texas will show you this extraordinary house, which was built on the fly. That is, the structural basis was not the first consideration. Owner Robert Bruno – both an artist and an architect – has been working on this house since 1974 and says that it is supposed to resemble both an animal and a machine.
For more of these strange houses, visit the slideshow here.
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You’ve probably heard it many times, but let me say it again: buying your first home is probably one of the biggest decisions you’d ever have to make in life. If this is one of your goals for 2010, let me help you get on your way with a few tips that have been tried and tested.
Examine your lifestyle. Your home is going to be a central part of your life. While it is inanimate, it is definitely going to affect how you live your life. Its location, especially in relation to your place of work, is going to be important. The floor plan, the size, the layout – all of these should fit your lifestyle. From the outset, determine what it is exactly that you want: where should the house be located? How big should it be? How many rooms? What rooms do you need? And so on.
Know just how much you can afford on the house. Knowing what you want and need is one thing. Having to pay for all those needs and wants is another story altogether. Once you have decided on your first house and every other physical detail, you have to know what you can and cannot afford. You have to set the limits before actually going out and looking.
Seek professional assistance. It’s your first time. You want to do it all by yourself. The best way to go, in my opinion, is to seek expert advice, especially in legal aspects. It’s better to go about it the right way than to regret things later on.
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What are your goals for 2010? This question is probably the most asked question these days. If you are thinking about buying a house in the next year or so, you should be asking a different set of questions.
For starters, ask yourself if buying a home is the right move. Why are you looking to buy a home? Do you want to move to a more suitable house? Do you want to buy an additional home? Are you going to buy a new piece of property for investment purposes? At the outset, it should be clear to you as to why you are planning on buying. From there, you can proceed to the other details.
If you are planning on buying a new house for personal – not purely investment – purposes, here is one question that you should answer with all honesty. Never mind that you really want a new house, or that you “think” you can manage all the related expenses. Ask yourself this: If your household income suffers a drastic decrease (say half), would you still be able to manage the mortgage payments? If your answer is no, then I suggest you take a second – even a third – look.
Another question you should ask is about the interest rate: if the rates go up considerably (say 10%), would you be able to afford the mortgage? Again, if you are sure that such an increase will pose a problem for you, then you will have to re-examine your goals.
It all boils down to planning and a realistic view of the situation. Good luck in finding that dream house next year!
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At the outset, I have to qualify that title – the assumption is that you want to look for property in a city where the prices are low. This year, many cities across the United States are experiencing a positive outlook in terms of house value; that is, the prices of houses are not falling as steeply as it used to. Indeed, some cities have stable house prices to date.
Forbes recently published an online article about 17 cities which have actually experienced an increase in house prices. What this means for the house buyer is to steer clear of these cities if you’re looking for a bargain. Then again, it might be a good idea to buy now before the prices go even higher – then you can sell later on for a profit.
What cities are these? This is the list according to Forbes.
1. Minneapolis, Minn.
2. San Francisco, Calif.
3. Detroit, Mich.
4. Chicago, Ill.
5. Phoenix, Ariz.
6. San Diego, Calif.
7. Los Angeles, Calif.
8. Washington, D.C.
9. Denver, Colo.
10. Seattle, Wash.
I am sure some of you will find this list quite useful in making your decisions in the year to come, especially now that 2009 is almost at an end. More so, real estate experts forecast that the rate of the decline of home price values (annually, that is), is improving. This spells good news for those who engage in real estate activities as a business, no matter the scale. Good luck!
Photo courtesy of Domain Tools
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