One of the most popular trends in the condo market is thriving in Saint Paul. Lofts have become a huge part of the condo industry. The renovation of old warehouses has brought forth some of the most beautiful and unique condo choices on today’s market. What is the attraction to these homes? Firstly, they come with all of the inherently desirable aspects of condo ownership. It is amenities such as fitness clubs, spas, group meeting facilities, and great location that have made condos a great choice for city dwellers all over the country. Now, with the loft option, a style of living that is truly artistic has become available and is truly selling like nothing before. 

The loft originally became popular as a live/work space or artistic workshop. Since that time lofts have evolved dramatically to become some of the most unique and popular condo choices on the real estate market in any city. Lofts offer an open floor plan that is highly utilitarian. True lofts feature no dividing walls and one large living space, usually featuring popular assets like concrete or wood floors, exposed brick walls and exposed ductwork. 

Lofts have really caught on in many cities and this is especially true in Saint Paul. With an excellent selection of lofts spread throughout Saint Paul’s historic downtown area, buyers can pick and choose their new homes with ease. This is an excellent area to purchase condos in. The real estate market is in a state of growth and home owners and investors alike are realizing a huge profit on their homes and a big jump in their equity. With the excellent transportation and amenities offered by Saint Paul, this area is fast developing into one of the most intelligent real estate purchases available.

Located in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon is hip state that gets a lot of rain. This rain results in a beautiful green state, but doesn’t put a damper on the real estate market. 

Oregon

From the stunning Crater Lake to Pioneer Square in Portland, Oregon is a diverse state. The population ranges from hippies to the very conservative depending upon where you happen to be standing. There are forests, beaches, rivers and even deserts. All of this is typically within a couple hours drive from every major population center. Go skiing one day and sailing the next!

Portland

Portland is truly a big city with a small town feel. This dichotomy is a product of very careful planning, which has led to a lack of the urban sprawl seen in so many other cities. The architecture has a prominent east coast flavor, with red brick buildings on prominent display. The city is populated with coffee houses, bookstores and microbreweries. Indeed, Portland seems to be the home of the microbrew, with literally hundreds seeming to exist. For quality of life, Portland gets top marks. 

Eugene

If you’ve watched the movie “Animal House”, you’re familiar with Eugene. Yep, the movie was shot there. Eugene is a wonderfully eclectic mix of styles, politics and attitude. The home of the University of Oregon, the city is energized with student activities. On the other hand, Eugene also has a sophisticated side with operas, Bach classic music festivals as well as a symphony and ballet company. Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Eugene is most visitors make plans to live in the city at some point in their life. 

Oregon Real Estate

Oregon real estate is reasonably priced, but fluctuate wildly depending upon the particular location you are considering. A single family home in Portland will set you back $300,000 on average, while one in Eugene will run in the $325 range. The appreciation rate for Oregon real estate is a robust for 15 percent for 2005. 

If you enjoy a bit of weather and the outdoors, Oregon is definitely a state to take a look at. Just keep in mind that once you move there, you may never leave.

The process of purchasing an investment property is very different to that of buying a home for example, for you and your family to live in. There are many other considerations that must be taken into account before making this big step. 

The buy-to-let boom of recent times has seen many more competitive mortgage deals become available, adding fuel to an already blazing fire. Many borrowers have found that they have come unstuck whilst jumping on the bandwagon without properly researching the proposed venture. 

Thorough research of the market is essential. Even if you decide to borrow a substantial segment of the purchase price of the house, it will usually cost you a considerable amount to set yourself up as a landlord. 

The location and the type of property you are going to purchase are the two most important factors to consider – for example, demand might not match the number of rental properties in certain areas and one bedroom flats may be easier to rent out than two bedrooms. 

It is always a good idea to approach a number of letting agents in the proposed area you wish to buy, in order to gain an insight into rental demand – this is also a good way of finding out how much rental income you can expect. 

When you look to purchase your own home, a lender will look at your income in order to assess how much they would be prepared to lend. With a buy-to-let mortgage however, mortgage lenders calculate how much they are willing to lend in a different way.

Many lenders will expect rental income to cover at least 130 percent of your monthly mortgage repayments – so make sure that you calculate your sums correctly. Once you have made your calculations and found a suitable area you wish to buy in, you can start shopping around for mortgages. 

Many lenders offer mortgage advances on buy to let purchases of up to 75 percent of the property value. On certain buy to let schemes however, it is possible to borrow as much as 85 percent of the value of the property.  

There are many different buy-to-let mortgage deals that can be arranged – You can choose between fixed, discounted and variable rates.

Some lenders may insist that you use an agent to manage the property. If this is the case then you could expect to pay up to 15 percent of the gross rental income on management fees. By using the services of an agent you can expect them to source tenants on your behalf, check references and collect the rent. 

As with other types of mortgages, it will be a condition of the lender that you have in place a buildings insurance policy at the very least. Contents cover is also highly recommended however it is not usually obligatory. 

Buy To Let Action Plan

1. Stay clear of areas that are already saturated with buy-to-let properties – supply can often outweigh demand, which could make finding tenants a difficult task.

2. It pays to negotiate! It may seem as though competition is fierce for property although if you are prepared to be patient then you could land yourself a bargain at well below market value.

3. When decorating, it is a good idea to invest that little bit extra. Ask yourself, could you see yourself living there? If not then you may wish to review your decor.

4. Join a landlords association. For about 100.00 a year you will have access to help and assistance on matters such as tax issues and legislation.

These techniques should work in any country, city or area. The trick is to simply find the real deals. Let me tell you the quickest way you could start making money in real estate right away.

Call all the “We buy houses” classified ads and signs you see around your area and tell them that you are unemployed and would like to bird dog for them. Ask them for $100 when they sign contract to buy from seller and $400 more when they close ($500 is pretty typical amount). Ask them to let you go with them when they go see the property so you can get some experience. Also try to join you local investor group, in most cities they are $20 or less for each monthly meeting (it’s a bargain). Go visit your local section 8 housing office and ask for the list of landlords and contact some of the ones who deal in single family houses.

Also, go around and start looking for empty houses. Call real estate agents and tell them you are looking for investment properties. If you have lined up 5 or more investor buyers and you find a real deal one of them will snatch it up and pay you a bird dog fee. While you are out look for home for rent signs, call them, ask them if they buy houses, if yes get their phone, fax, email etc and send them deals too. If they don’t find out if they are looking to sell their rental homes. You will be able to find owner financed deals this way.

Shortly you will be able to know what properties to get under contract yourself and move up to wholesaling where you will make $2000-10,000 per deal instead of $500. It just keeps getting better from there.

If you are aggressive and get out and look for properties today, you could be making a few hundred dollars a week by next week, A thousand dollars a week within a month, and $10,000 plus per month within 6 months. These techniques work but they require work. Interestingly enough you could do a lot of this work from a bicycle if you had no car (but maybe not in Canada during the winter).

None of these techniques require cash or credit and will get you started in real estate investing right away.

There are a large number of real estate agencies or individual agents throughout the world.  With the proper training it is possible for just about anyone with the ambition to make a profit selling real estate.  

If you have or are interested in obtaining a real estate license there are a number of ways to help maximize your potential profits.  The majority of successful real estate agencies have a company website.  A real estate website will help you get your business name out into the public.  There are also a number of individuals who use real estate websites to search for a home that is in another state.  Websites are extremely helpful to these people because it allows them to search for and purchase a home without having to make multiple long-distance trips.  

To have a real estate website you do not have to be experienced in web design.  There are a number of other professionals who can do it for you.  Acquiring the services of a real estate website design company will cost money; however, it is money that will be well spent.  Even if you can develop a standard website you may still wish to use the services of a real estate website design company.  Individuals or companies who operate a real estate website design service are often fully trained and experienced in producing quality work.  Depending on who you use to build your website, a website developed by a professional will generally turn out a lot better than one developed by an everyday individual.  

Once you make the decision to acquire outside help from a real estate website design company you will need to find one.  There are a large number of web designers that are looking for work; however, you should carefully examine each individual or business before officially obtaining their services.  

Each designer will likely charge a different rate for their services.  You should compare the fees of a wide variety of different real estate website design companies before selecting one.  When pricing comparing you should also keep in mind that each individual or company will have different levels of experiences.  To find a quality website design company you should also examine the quality of their work.  A reputable and experienced real estate website design company will be more than willing to show you examples of their past work.  Viewing completed projects is a great way to determine if you will be getting your moneys worth when selecting a person to do business with.  

The best way to learn about the different real estate website design companies is by doing an internet search.  Almost all website designers will advertise their business online; therefore, this may be your best way to develop a list of multiple website designers.  When you visit the website of a design company you should fully examine their own website.  This will give you a good idea on the quality of work that they will be likely to produce.  

There are a large number of website designers; however, there are limited number who have experience designing real estate websites.  If you are interested in producing a quality real estate website you should hire the services of an individual or company that acts as a real estate website designer or at least has some experience in real estate design.