How to Build A Rental Property Money Machine

If you are looking for a steady, income-producing investment that isn't dependent on the ups and downs of the stock market, rental property is just the investment you're looking for!

As lucrative as owning rental property can be, the wrong property can be a bottomless money pit. You need to know how to go about locating property, finding tenants, managing the rental, and how to make your investment profitable. Many first-time landlords learn lessons the hard way. They end up spending thousands of dollars on repairs, chasing after tenants for rents, and are constantly being called up in the middle of the night to take care of minor repairs such as burned out light bulbs. If this sounds like you, instead of throwing in the towel, learn from your mistakes. For some investors, it may be as simple as starting to treat their rentals as a business.

The right way

Start fresh from the beginning. Utilize a return-on-investment (ROI) formula in order to determine what you need to charge for rent in order to have a positive ROI. If the market in your area cannot bear the amount of rental income needed, you may want to consider selling that property. Also, learn the value of proper tenant selection and a solid lease agreement. Using these two approaches will make being a landlord a pleasant and profitable experience.

Locate properties effectively

Every single residential property is a potential investment winner and no property should be discounted without consideration. Hone your search by spotting the "dynamic" properties among the "duds."

Strategy: Look for properties in local neighborhoods where home prices are stable and appreciating. Stable and appreciating neighborhoods ensure the preservation of your investment and can provide additional return-on-investment through appreciation of your property.

Strategy: Look specifically at middle to low end of the price range in neighborhoods. It is there that you will find more room for appreciation of property values.

Do the math before you buy

Once you have zeroed in on a prospective rental property, run your numbers through your Russ Whitney Real Estate Success Software or use the following return-on-investment (ROI) formulas to determine whether to make a purchase offer or to move on to the next property.

Russ Whitney - Real Estate Millionaire, best-selling author and CEO of Whitney Information Network, Inc. Russ Whitney is a hard-driving, intense achiever and leader who never slows his tireless pace. From running a multi-million dollar educational company to spending time with his family Russ Whitney is the picture and embodiment of success of the American Dream.

http://www.russwhitney.com

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.