"The" Opportunity. The top 6 ways to take advantage of today's real estate market!

6 Ways to take advantage of today’s Real Estate Market
Before we talk about the 6 ways to take advantage of the real estate market maybe we should start with why someone would want to take advantage of the market……… Real Estate is a proven solid foundation whether you are looking for a home for your family or investing in real estate to build wealth. Real estate is an investment you can control. If the investment isn’t going well you can sell it, fix it, rent it, rehab it, paint it or even move in. Also there are great tax incentives for owning a home. The market has gone down for over 12 months now. This means property on average will be purchased at a far less amount that it will be worth in the next 5-10 years. There is no easier way to build wealth. I will even offer a fantastic real estate investment opportunity at the end of this blog!
I am not going to spend a lot of time on market data this blog. Fact of the matter is the market is totally static right now. There is good and bad with that. The positive is the inventory numbers are staying static as well. Median home price was under $170,000 for May 2009 which is lower than it has been in 3+ years. A lot of indicators of a bottom if you ask me. Northern Idaho flat as well. Median prices are still dropping slightly over there but new development, although has slowed down is still moving along. Nationwide there are some bright spots in Montana, Carolina’s, parts of Texas and there are a few neighborhoods in the mid-west. But for the most part there are still minor declines in home pricing and a virtual shut down off new development projects. California market is showing early signs of becoming stable as well. Commercial markets everywhere are starting to feel the pain of commercial subprime and balloons. Stay tuned on commercial problems.
So let’s do this! 6 ways to turn other people lemons into your lemonade through real estate!

1. No better place to start than the $8,000 tax credit of 2009! People if you don’t know about this do yourself or someone you know a favor and read on. Through 2009 the government is giving a free tax rebate to first time home owners. This is an $8000(or 10%) direct tax credit! A first time home buyers is someone who has not owned or purchased a home in the last 3 years. If you know any first time home buyers do them a favor and have them contact us about our first time home buyer program and we can explain the benefits. This has been a great tool to have your tenants buy you out as well! If you need to make a higher purchase price or get paid back for the closing costs or down payment you gave you can! Notice I said the closing costs or down payment you made. You can pay the buyers closing costs. If they are a lease option tenant of yours you can give them a rent credit for the down payment! This is only through 2009!
2. Low prices! With a large amount of inventory relative to the amount of buyers, sellers are being forced to keep their prices down. The fact is this is a buyer’s market and if you can’t get the price you want on a property there is a good chance another seller is more motivated to sell.
3. Low interest rates. Lower interest rates allow you to purchase more home. This is because the interest rate and the amount financed are the two key factors in your payment. Lower interest rates also help investment properties cash flow better. Even you are not using bank money to finance, private money and hard money rates have been very reasonable as well.
4. Motivated sellers! Are you working a creative deal or do you need money to close? This is the market where you can ask for what you want. This includes owner financing, lease options, cash discounts. It just depends on what the seller wants. Investment tip # 1: worry about accomplishing what the seller wants out of the deal before you worry about what you want. That is the best way to work a win win transaction.
5. Choices! Home owners have a market they can “home shop” in that we have not seen in almost 10 years! Buyers can take the time to really compare homes in the areas they want to live. Sellers are also making the homes nicer before they go on the market to help sale, nice bonus.
6. Take action! These homes won’t just fall into your real estate portfolio. You need to go get some good real estate deals while this buyer’s market is in full effect. We are finding great deal everyday because that is what we do! Call Extant Realty to take action.
So there you go. This is the perfect market to put those things into place. Okay so I said I would have an investment deal! There is an opportunity for an investor to hold a $45,000 equity position in a $155,000 3 bed 2 bath home in Coeur d’ Alene, ID. This is a short sale and we are just wrapping up negotiations with the bank. If you are interested in the details and the investment package please call us at 509-926-4018 or fill out a contact form at www.ExtantRealty.com . Now there is an easy way to get into real estate investment! This deal will be a first come first serve. Qualified investors only for this deal! Available until July 7th or as soon as spoken for. We also have similar opportunities available so give us a call. Happy 4th of July everyone!