The Flip Board

Professional property managers are experts in the field acquiring and keeping paying tenants for real estate investors. They are knowledgeable about the local rental market, vacancy levels, and rental price trends. But most of all, the property manager you use for your real estate business should excel in leasing and managing rental property.

Read more »

HSBC has done well to style itself the great subprime survivor. But the world’s biggest bank is less special than it thinks. True, its shares have outperformed almost every banking index around. And its core tier one capital ratio – 7.8 per cent at the end of September, towards the top of its target range – is on the high side, versus western peers.

But as HSBC has three-quarters of its loan book in the benighted US and UK, that target may be a moving one. A note to third-quarter accounts shows that the carrying value of US consumer loans was $111bn, but that the market value was $34bn lower. Fine: these are banking assets, not held for trading, so the group does not have to account for them at fair value. But if you were to tot up HSBC’s subprime losses taken so far through its P&L, then add the reported fair-value deficits not recognised on balance sheet, the sum would be almost $70bn – higher than Merrill, Citi or UBS, and second only to Wachovia. An accounting confection, of course, but it does throw a light on the scale of HSBC’s exposure to US subprime and the potential for further impairments.

- Lex - www.TheFlipBoard.com

A market analyst from Wachovia Bank said yesterday that he feels real estate is about to hit the bottom. I agree and disagree at the same time. Yes, some specific niches of real estate may bottom out, but some still have a good way to go.

Read more »

For the uninitiated, a real estate broker is one (or a firm) who acts as mediator between sellers and buyers of real estate.  They also market and put together deals.  Hmm… If you are a good RE Broker, then chances are you are very affleunt and handle very exclusive accounts.

Or, you are a newbie who is trying to break into the real estate market by not actually purchasing any real estate.

It sounds to me that brokers do nothing outside of what an experienced RE investor can do on their own. So, why do we have brokers? When real estate companies wish to capitalize on fees and “add-ons”, they come up with things like brokerage, handling services and negotiation representation. All things that you will be charged for.  And all things you can do yourself for nothing.

In this particular real estate market, we have a large supply and a lower demand, which is causing prices to drop. This also means brokers are out of work.  Some brokers are trying to move devalued real estate. And some are trying to convince buyers to buy.  Bottom line is without buyers and sellers and enough cash to support both, you have no real estate brokerage business.

Save some money and handle real estate yourself. Keep as many transactions in-house as possible. This includes locating properties, negotiating deals and representing yourself and/or company.

Let the brokers move their businesses to insurance.

-Richard - www.TheFlipBoard.com

I was reminded today of a post from a while ago that talked about increasing your credit rating. You can read it here. The reason for that quick run down memory lane was to remind me that if investors did not start cleaning up their credit, then they will find it almost impossible to get a bank to loan them money. It takes several months of on-time payments to build that reputation you, as an investor, will desperately need. And now that we are in a financial crisis, created and owned by the banks, institutions are looking for every possible reason NOT to lend investors money for Real Estate.

Read more »

I had an idea this morning. How do I communicate to those who just don’t “get it”?  Then it dawned on me. Tell a story or equate the concept to something they can relate to. I chose the latter of the two methods.

Most newbie investors have trouble truly visualizing what the Real Estate business is as well as how to make it successful.  Based on the successes we have experienced, the best way to approach Real Estate is to think of yourself as printing money.

Read more »

Folks -

Here iards a little trick that maybe you can try.  I recently got a question from a friend of mine. He wanted to know how to make sure he doesn’t get in too deep, while making some quick cash when leveraging a property using “OTM” (other people’s money).

I gave him this little tidbit and thought I would share it with The Flip Board.

Read more »

While looking over my businesses and investment holdings this morning, I experienced an epiphany.  I carefully gazed up at the television screen and noticed a huge run on Wall Street to the tune of 500 points. (The DJIA actually fell over 800 points before recovering.) There was panic in the news reporters giving the scoop. Panic was found on DrudgeReport.com. There was Panic everywhere. 

Read more »

A mysterious Russian billionaire has trumped his big-spending rivals and broken a world record by splashing out €500 million (£392 million or about $750 million US) on one of the most sumptuous villas on the French Riviera.

Read more »

The FreddieMac/SallieMae debacle is EXACTLY what you get when an organization is mismanaged.

And you can’t get more mis-managed than the US Government. Too many occasions have shown us the absolute inadequacy governmental agencies have toward keeping budgets, promises and good financial stewardship.  Sure, bureaucrats make many promises. And with budgets in the billions, it will take years to burn all the cash. But, if the American People don’t wise-up, then all governmental agencies, offices and government-controlled businesses will sink like a ship made of Swiss cheese. And who has to keep them afloat?  Tax Payers.

Historically, the government was brought to bear when the private sector could not provide for the masses. Excuse me, but when was it stated that the masses had to be “taken care of”?

Government should only be involved to make playing fields even for all. As long as opportunity is available with not hidden strings or agendas, it then becomes the personal responsibility of each participant of the masses to achieve their own version of success. When the government is asked to redistribute wealth, manage public well-being or pay for basic necessities, you get Socialism. Plain and simple.

FannieMae/FreddieMac are Government Supported Entities that were charged with providing low-interest mortgages and other such vehicles to individuals who could not compete on their own within the private-sector. Example - If I am denied a particular product by CitiBank or GMAC, a similar product could be presented to me, funded by FreddieMac. As a matter of fact, I once had a student loan through Fannie Mae. It was low-interest and secured by government funds.  The problem lies in the macro-economic question of “who pays for this?”.  Tax dollars earmarked for military defense, national infrastructure or public sector pensions now have to be diverted to these entities or your taxes will be raised to pay for both.   I do not like having my taxes raised when I get no immediate benefit. If the government learned to “do more with less”, then these two GSE’s would not have to be bailed out.  Miss Management strikes again.