When buying Real Estate you need tounderstand the market environment in that area. Understand the implications of the area and the history of the property that you are examining. Be aware of other developments planned for that area. Research the area before you invest. The more knowledge you have, the better prepared you are! For example: reading this article is a good start! Learn everything you can about that Real Estate marketplace. Do your homework on the property! Research the property and the surrounding neighborhood at the local city, town or municipal hall. Ask neighbours in the area about the uses of the property and its impact on them. Do a title search any outstanding charges, liens or covenants. Do your own study on local pricing. Call a few successful Realtors and Appraisers. Most are quite happy to help. Remember when getting information, get conformations in threes. This means have three separate sources of information so you can identify facts from fiction. As a potential Investor, look to see if the price of one piece of Real Estate is accelerating faster in one area as compared in other areas. Check to see how the average price compares with the average price on similar properties in other neighboring towns or cities, the development costs, constructions costs and most importantly the vacancy rate and the potential return on investment. Always be ahead of changes in the Real Estate market. When the market cycle turns downward, sales fall off and you will not get the price you planned. Many people are finding this out right now! Understanding information is power! The more you know, the more you can evaluate the return on your investment. This will help you negotiate the purchase price of the property. Just because someone wants 0,000 doesn’t mean they won’t sell it for less, given a convincing presentation on current market values. Real Estate Agents are a great source of information. Always do your own research to determine fair market value. Real Estate Agent commissions are always negotiable. Just because they ask for 5-10% of the sale price doesn’t mean that you can’t negotiate. If you want to negotiate fees with Real Estate Agents, always research the Real Estate commissions charged by Real Estate Agents in the area. Remember, the more you are willing to pay in Real Estate commissions, the harder your Realtor is prepaid to work on your behalf. Learn to develop a sense for fair market values. You can do this by taking multiple similar local properties and that have sold and finding an average price. For example, take 5 similar properties in the area and divide the sum of their values by 5. So anything that is less than the average would be a good deal and anything over would be paying too much. Of course, don’t make your decision on price only. Not always, but most times there is a reason why the asking price could be lower or higher! MLS.com (Multiple Listing Service) is a great place to find information on Listings as most Real Estate Agents use this site to share listings information with other Real Estate Agents. Local papers are also a great place to look for local Real Estate Information. The internet is also a great place to find local Real Estate information. For more information on local transactions, research the land title Registries. They will carry information on Real Estate transactions that can be used to identify average prices. When striving for the leading edge on investment, look for a catalyst in the area. The increase of development display signs in an area makes a statement to an Investor, that the area maybe ripe for investing. If you are interested in investing or buying and reselling residential Real Estate, keep an eye on new roads, proposed new schools to be built or old schools to be renovated and expanded. If this is happening, you can be fairly sure that Real Estate values in that area, in the near future, will be impacted by supply and demand. The more demand for property in an given area, the more you can resell it for. Don’t be afraid to ask for more than your property is worth! Remember, you can always go down in price but it is hard to go up after you are for sale. Another great thing about asking for more is some people will actually pay it with out bargaining because they FEEL the value is there for them! Looking for and investing into growing communities at the very beginning, is a very profitable time for reselling. New development of shopping malls in either mature or growing communities is a good tell-tale sign for a profitable investment area. Never review Real Estate taxes and government assessment when buying. Learn to spot new developments. Examples: land clearing, surveying for new construction in and around major roadways are pretty good indicators. Also, look for widening of traffic lanes, the installation of turnaround lanes and the installation of new traffic lights. All these activities suggest the possibility of increased property values in the area. If you are looking for new developments, a great place to start is to contact the local town or city road and building department. They will be aware of new and future developments for the area. Another avenue for finding out about new developments is contacting the city, province or state department. Ask when and where new developments will be coming up. Always be aware of the property taxes. If the property tax is lower on the property of interest than others around it, find out why and be prepared for it to increase. To find out information about property taxes you can always call the local Tax Assessor and they can reveal how much the town or city is charging. It is called the mill rate. Keep an eye on school rankings. Remember the better the school does in over all marks; the more people want their children to go and learn there! This creates more of a demand to live in the area. This demand will create an increase in the value of property in that area. Watch the Outskirts. If the properties in a major city or town have become overpriced, the areas on the outer fringes most likely will soon be in demand. Areas in close proximity to major bus and rail transportation are even more desirable. Nearly any area that is about to install a major train stop or a new major bus route will see its property go up in value. There are 6 main groups of Real Estate. They are Industrial, Commercial, Investment, Recreational, Agricultural and Residential. Residential Real Estate is the most common. It has been our experience that people believe that this is the best investment to start. This Real Estate is mainly known as houses, duplexes and condominiums. Commercial property is the second most popular and is for the more sophisticated investor. This type of Real Estate includes shopping malls, strip malls, theatres, retail stores or main line office buildings. Recreational property is the third most popular investment and is usually done by very sophisticated investors and Trust Funds. These are the “get away” locations like hotels, resorts and spas, golf and nature retreats. Industrial properties are the least popular because most people have a difficult time understanding the development and construction process especially for a specific need. You will find large Investment Trust companies and more highly sophisticated buyers involved in these types of projects. Agriculture property surrounding populated areas are a valued investment for land developers. For long term holding properties. Did you know? Usually in a Real Estate transaction, it takes just as much effort to buy or sell a residential property as it does a Commercial property! Most times, the only difference is the number of 0’s at the end. Appraisals are important and you should get one before closing a purchase on a property. Borrowing money is just as important as buying the property. Remember to find the right Lender with an affordable interest rate. Meet Lenders in the local area… They are your business partners. Meet and interview lawyers in the local area. As the Real Estate zoning process is municipally controlled, a Real Estate Lawyer represents your needs to know the municipal idiosyncrasies. Last but not least, meet local Accountants and ask questions about tax implications of buying and selling Real Estate in their area. Property in different states or provinces has different rules when it comes to taxation. A good way to find competent people in lending, law and accounting practices, is to ask a successful Real Estate Agent in that area. You will know who is knowledgeable by how much they advertise and provide creditable information. Those that advertise the most, tend to do the most business. Building strong relationships with competent people gets the job done right. Banks aren’t the only place for money. A Lending Broker is another source however, there could be a price. Understand “Cap Rates”. To understand this definition see capitalization rates on our website under “glossary”. Different Real Estate assets have different asset classes, and depending on the class, can value or devalue the asset. If you are still reading this, good for you! And if not we understand but here is a fun fact. Did you know that the Guinness Book of World Records holds the record for being the book most stolen from Public Libraries? A condominium, or condo, is a form of Real Estate where the specified unit is for the free use and enjoyment of its owner. A specified part of the property and buildings is owned by the strata corporation and the use of and accesses to common facilities are identified as limited common property. The lands upon which the building is located is mostly identified as common property. Condos use what most people call Strata Titles. Look at insurance and understand what you have and don’t have insured. Understand where your unit and or property