Most Expensive Real Estate Rental Markets In The U.S.

real estate59 Most Expensive Real Estate Rental Markets In The U.S.


According to “Out of Reach”, the annual report of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), prices of many rental markets have increased sharply over the past few years making affordable housing difficult for low and medium wage workers.

The report reveals a marked disparity between people’s earning and rental housing costs. This difference is sizeable and has increased every year. In fact, the cost of rental housing has gone up by 28% in the past 7 years, much beyond the wages earned by the people who need affordable housing the most.

NLIHC calculated the hourly wage needed to afford the rent and utilities of a market rate rental home in each state. Affordable housing was defined as the cost of a two-bedroom rental home without having to spend more than 30% of one’s gross income on housing costs. The report terms this rate of affordability as the ‘national housing wage’, which has increased to $16.31 from last year’s $15.78.

Housing prices in many rental markets far exceed the wages of the renters, making them the least affordable rental markets. Based on the Out of Reach 2006 report, Hawaii stands at the top of the ten most pricy rental markets for a two-bedroom rental home. Listed below are top 10 most expensive states for rental housing:

1. Hawaii – hourly wage of $23.53 needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home.

2. California – hourly wage of $22.86 needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home.

3. Massachusetts – hourly wage of $22.65 needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home.

4. New Jersey – hourly wage of $21.21 needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home.
5. New York – hourly wage of $20.70 needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home.

6. Connecticut – hourly wage of $20.42 needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home.

7. Maryland – hourly wage of $20.07 needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home.

8. Rhode Island – hourly wage of $19.36 needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home.

9. New Hampshire – hourly wage of $18.10 needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home.

10. Alaska – hourly wage of $17.90 needed to afford a two-bedroom rental home.

The report concluded that a minimum-wage earner making $10,712 a year cannot afford even a one-bedroom home anywhere in the country. The reality is that a wage earner needs to make $28,475 per year to afford a two-bedroom rental home. Families with two minimum-wage earners need to make at least $33,925 to afford a two-bedroom rental home.



Why Should I Hire a Seattle Real Estate Attorney?

real estate99 Why Should I Hire a Seattle Real Estate Attorney?


In every real estate transaction there are a wide variety of legal issues that must be taken care of. Contracts should always be reviewed by an attorney who understands the nuances of real estate law. But there are also state specific State laws to contend with. A Seattle real estate lawyer deals with a large number of State legal issues related to acquiring, financing, developing, managing, constructing, leasing and selling residential and commercial property of all kinds. A Seattle real estate attorney will fully inform you of your options, advise you of any consequences, and protect your legal interests.

Below are some reasons you should consider retaining a Seattle attorney (Seattle Law Firm) for your real estate transaction:

? Real estate closings bring all interested parties together. They involve the execution and delivery of all necessary documents at the same time as the payment of the purchase price and the settlement costs of the deal. While this may seem like a simple process, handling a real estate closing is a complicated matter and requires a thorough knowledge of the law. This is why sellers and purchasers need to hire a reputable Seattle real estate attorney to orchestrate the transaction.

? Seattle real estate lawyers deal with tax implications for those buying and selling property.

? An experienced Seattle real estate lawyer can help you keep your property out of probate court by setting up a living trust for you to pass your property directly to your intended heirs.

? Real estate attorneys can protect you from costly mistakes, errors in the documents, errors in the figures and other problems that could lead to litigation or other expensive legal action.
? A real estate lawyer represents all parties involved in real estate transactions, for both residential and commercial properties.

? A real estate attorney also represents and assists business entities in a variety of commercial real estate issues.

? A Seattle attorney can help you with issues including real estate investment opportunities, real estate construction and development, landlord/tenant matters, zoning, financing or refinancing, and mortgages and foreclosures.

There are non-legal services that claim they can do all the legal work you need. If you’re tempted to save a few bucks this way, remember that lawyers belong to a regulated profession with standards they must meet and insurance to cover damages if they make an error or omission. You don’t necessarily have the same standards or recourse dealing with other advisors. And this isn’t the time to “do-it-yourself”. Although many legal forms used in real estate are similar, binder or purchase and sale agreement forms do vary from state to state. So if you intend to engage in a real estate transaction, retaining a Seattle real estate attorney, or Seattle law firm, will insure that all facets of your real estate transaction will be reviewed based on Washington state laws. Furthermore, some title insurance companies and mortgage lenders require you to use an attorney to ensure that, among other things, the title is good, there are no liens against the property, and that the deal will close as anticipated.

A Seattle real estate attorney’s role can be as broad as you want. And while it is not typical in a real estate transaction, you can ask your Seattle attorney to describe his or her work and fees in writing before you proceed. Whether you are a sophisticated businessperson with significant real estate experience, or a first-time homeowner, you can count on a qualified Seattle attorney experienced in real estate law to protect your interests during your real estate transaction. Do not close a real estate transaction unprepared!



Real Estate Investing – Essential Information

real estate69 Real Estate Investing   Essential Information


When you are first starting out investing in houses, you should always look for ugly or bad houses that need to be upgraded. These homes are much cheaper to purchase, although they will take some work to improve. You should start out by looking for houses that need some work, such as clean up, painting, and in some cases new carpet. You don’t want to buy something too run down, as it could cost a fortune to repair.

If you think of yourself as a handyman and feel that you can do the repairs yourself, you can save a lot of money. On the other hand, if you need to hire someone, you should always make sure that the individual or company that you hire is qualified to do the repairs. If you aren’t comfortable with doing any of the repairs, you should inquire about a subcontractor or company that will do it for a reasonable price, or perhaps a share of the money once you have resold the house.

If the house you are thinking to purchase and resell has any type of structural problems, you should always get an estimate from a reliable contractor before you make the purchase. If you decide to stay in the business, you’ll learn a lot more over the years, although you should always hire a contractor when you first start out. Once you get all of the estimates together, you can make that final decision on how much of an offer you want to put down on the property.

After you have a team together and successfully renovated and resold several homes, you’ll begin to feel quite a bit more confident with buying homes that need repairs. All it takes is time and practice – and you’ll be buying homes that the average investor wouldn’t think twice about. This can be a huge advantage when you are looking for homes to buy and resell, as there will be less competition to worry about. You’ll also be able to get a lower price when buying the home, simply because you can use the cost of the repairs to your advantage.
Once you are able to do repairs on homes, including structural problems, you’ll have a huge advantage in the market. You’ll be able to buy virtually any home, including those that other investors choose to ignore. Doing so can be very profitable for you, especially if the house is in a well known and well desired neighborhood. After you have done the repairs, you can resell the home for a much higher price than you paid to acquire the home.

When you start looking for houses that you can repair and resale, you should always take your time and buy the right homes. You won’t have the money, time, experience, or support to buy the bigger houses at first, which means you won’t have any room for mistakes. Once you have purchased and resold a few smaller homes, you’ll eventually be able to work your way up to the bigger homes – which is where the big profits will come into play.

Always keep in mind that when you first start out, you’ll need to take things slow. You can expect profits to come overnight, as it will take you some time to learn. Once you have been at it a few years and have several houses to your credit, you’ll be ready to tackle anything. At that point – you’ll make a lot of money in a career that is truly exciting.



Some thing about Real Estate! Read it if you are beginner in this topic!

real estate79 Some thing about Real Estate! Read it if you are beginner in this topic!


According to WikiPedia, Real Estate is:

Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions, notably in the USA, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia) that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, specifically property that is fixed in location Real estate law is the body of regulations and legal codes which pertain to such matters under a particular jurisdiction. Real estate is often considered synonymous with real property (also sometimes called realty), in contrast with personal property (also sometimes called chattel or personality under chattel law or personal property law).

However, in some situations the term “real estate” refers to the land and fixtures together, as distinguished from “real property,” referring to ownership rights of the land itself. [clarification needed]

The terms real estate and real property are used primarily in common law, while civil law jurisdictions refer instead to immovable property.

How to Find a Real Estate Agent in a Tight Market:

Step1

Most articles in step one is going to tell you to get a referral. That’s nice if you happen to be moving somewhere that you know someone, but in a lot of situations, this simply isn’t the case. The main two pitfalls with referrals are:

Step2

Go to the web. It is very important in the internet age that your real estate agent be web savvy, so the web will be your first stop in researching a good agent. All of the major real estate companies allow you to search online for real estate agents.

Step3

Once you find the agents on the web, you will be bombarded with a plethora of acronyms like GRI, ABR, and NAR. Here is a quick guide to sorting them out and what will be most useful to you.

And … These are some suggestion steps for you icon wink Some thing about Real Estate! Read it if you are beginner in this topic!

Real Estate Agent?! Who is this? What it do?

Again according to WikiPedia: Real estate broker or Real estate is:

A real estate broker is a term in the United States and Canada which describes a party who acts as an intermediary between sellers and buyers of real estate (or real property as it is known elsewhere) and attempts to find sellers who wish to sell and buyers who wish to buy. In the United States, the relationship was originally established by reference to the English common law of agency with the broker having a fiduciary relationship with his clients.

Estate agent is the term used in the United Kingdom to describe a person or organization whose business is to market real estate on behalf of clients, but there are significant differences between the actions and liabilities of brokers and estate agents in each country. Beyond the US, other countries take markedly different approaches to the marketing and selling of real property.

In the US, real estate brokers and their salespersons (commonly called “real estate agents” or, in some states, “brokers”) assist sellers in marketing their property and selling it for the highest possible price under the best terms. When acting as a Buyer’s agent with a signed agreement (or, in many cases, verbal agreement, although a broker may not be legally entitled to his commission unless the agreement is in writing), they assist buyers by helping them purchase property for the lowest possible price under the best terms. Without a signed agreement, brokers may assist buyers in the acquisition of property but still represent the seller and the seller’s interests.

In most jurisdictions in the United States, a person is required to have a license in order to receive remuneration for services rendered as a real estate broker. Unlicensed activity is illegal, but buyers and sellers acting as principals in the sale or purchase of real estate are not required to be licensed. In some states, lawyers are allowed to handle real estate sales for compensation without being licensed as brokers or agents.

Real Estate Investment:

Real Estate Investment is now treated as a major case of capital budgeting by using state-of-the-art investment analysis which incorporates the future stream of income it may generate and the associated risk adjustments. It has been the highlight of the investment literature since the 1970’s when investment theorists extended techniques such as probability, time value of money and utility into its analysis.

Real estate is basically defined as immovable property such as land and everything permanently attached to it like buildings. Real property as opposed to personal or movable property is characterized by the right to transfer the title to the land whereas title to personal property can be retained. The investment in real estate essentially depends on the risks associated with it, that is to say, even if the venture succeeds when the future stream of income will accrue to the investor and the alternative investment opportunities. Real estate investment can be attractive if viewed as a business opportunity; it can generate rental income, using it as collateral to secure a loan for a business venture, to offset otherwise taxable income through cash savings on tax-deductible interest rate losses, or simply from the profits garnered from its resale. Notable, in this context is the gains reaped by real estate speculators who trade in real estate futures (by buying and selling purchase options).

A.K