Ohio is a unique state where large cities like Cleveland and Cincinnati sit next to rural farms. Ohio real estate prices mirror this diversity. 

Ohio

Ohio was a mainstay in the industrial revolution in the United States. Cities such as Cleveland and Cincinnati spawned industrial might to such a degree that Cleveland is still the home of the most millionaires per person in the United States. Bet you didn’t know that! As the industrial revolution faded, the state has evolved and now has a strong high tech industry, particularly in Columbus. Notwithstanding all of this, Ohio has maintained a strong rural farming influence, which can be seen just be driving out of the cities. Throw in a bevy of lakes, and you have a surprisingly wonderful place to live. 

Columbus

Columbus is the state capital of Ohio and home to the massive Ohio State University. Sitting on the bank of the Scioto River, the city is centrally located and reflects the farmland surrounding it with a relaxed atmosphere. Named after Christopher Columbus, the city is designed well with large green areas, a thoughtful layout and statutes galore. With a huge university, the city has a definite college town feel with accompanying coffee shops, art galleries and a festive nightlife. If college football is your passion, this is the place to be in the fall. 

Cleveland

Cleveland is a city going through a major renaissance. Once branded with a rather nasty reputation, the city is now a gem in Ohio. Major money has been put into redevelopment and the city is now a hot spot for nightlife and cultural activities such as the rock n’ roll Hall of Fame. Once known as the “mistake on the lake”, Cleveland is now the gem of cities on Lake Erie. If you’re looking for a ground floor opportunity, Cleveland may just be the city for you. 

Cincinnati

Sitting on the Ohio River, Cincinnati is a sit with a mix of influences. You’ll find a definite European influence mixed with a southern feel and energized economy. This odd mix gives rise to an eccentric streak in a city which elected Jerry Springer as the Mayor. Yes, the Jerry Springer on television. Still, the city is a typical hard working town in Ohio with a surprising number of attractions such as the redeveloped river front area. The city also has a strong tradition of professional sports with the baseball Reds and the revitalized football Bengals. 

Ohio Real Estate

Ohio real estate prices are very reasonable regardless of where you go. A single family home in Columbus, Cleveland or Cincinnati will set you back between $220,000 and $250,000. Head out of these cities and you can expect to pay much less. 

Despite all the positive aspects of Ohio, appreciation rates are not the best. For 2005, appreciation rates were a little less than five percent.

It’s a simple fact that is becoming ever more known, investing in real estate makes great money. If you can add to that equation a location that’s highly desirable and has great value for real estate and properties then what you have is a sound investment. One that will continue to show a profit for the for see able future. There are few of these places in North America and most of them are heavily seasonal. The trick is to find one that has mass appeal year-round. Well look no further, Santa Cruz in beautiful California is the place. 

Whether renting or flipping, Santa Cruz offers an impressive home package. The famously beautiful weather is a great place to start when considering the list of bonuses and advantages that Santa Cruz brings to the table. However, the amazing weather works in conjunction with the bounty of nature to offer a truly “active” lifestyle. Santa Cruz is noted for its surfing.In fact it was known to be one of the first areas surfed in California, and is home to several surf and skate companies that are known around the world. Another notable attraction is the Santa Cruz Wharf, and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk; the oldest amusement park in California. 

These attractions and recreational options have created an excellent atmosphere for home investment. Such a desirable area always has a need for quality rental properties, and the home sales market is thriving as an abundance of home buyers are always ready to snatch up new homes that become available. This is also a great area for vacation rentals as Santa Cruz is a noted vacation destination. This area also has a bustling economy and a great education systems that includes the University Of California, Santa Cruz, a college that is modeled after the great universities of England, Cambridge & Oxford. 

Santa Cruz simply offers a fantastic residential investment opportunity. For those seeking a great home investment or a income-generating property, take a look at Santa Cruz.

Are you thinking of investing in real estate? But you do not have enough cash to do so. Here is a tip you can use as long as the property seller is willing to negotiate with you. To be fair, not every seller will be interested (or even understand) the concept outlined. Your best bet is to find a property that the owner has great interest in selling, whether because of moving, divorce or frustration with tenants. 

Actually, if you are currently renting and thinking about using this technique perhaps your landlord would be happy to help you out! There are a few variations that can be used depending on you and your seller. Do they want the market price or are they just eager to get out from the monthly payments – perhaps facing foreclosure? 

The simplest method is to take over their mortgage payments – called ‘assuming’ the mortgage. You will need to be approved by the original lender to assume the mortgage. If you cannot get approved for an assumable mortgage you may also try a ‘subject to’ assumption where you merely make payments while the property remains in the seller’s name. 

You take over the original mortgage and create a second mortgage on the remaining cost of the house with the seller. Offer a high, interest-only payment for a short period of time – 2 or 3 years. Instead of having the money sit in a bank they can be collecting a high interest over 2 or 3 years with the remainder due in full at the end of the term. 

When the term ends you should be able to refinance the cost, or you can sell. Unless you hit a real bad market the value of the property should have risen in that time. 

Most mortgage lenders merely want to make a good investment. While your local bank may still shy away there are plenty of financial lenders that would love to make a deal. Financiers like real estate. The mortgage is usually based on 60-70% of the value of the property, so as long as they know they get their money back in the value of the property if you default, they don’t care what kind of money you make. Complete the deal with a second mortgage created with the seller. If you default they can still foreclose on the property and sell it, paying off the existing mortgage with the proceeds. 

Now you can see the whole picture. It is better that seller and buyer can work together. If they can’t wait for a sale, you can still give them their asking price with a little flexibility on their part.

There are many people who get into real estate investing and who, in the process, just follow a simple formula which is using the well tried and certainly most tested way of doing business in real estate and that is to buy homes being put up for sale by owners who are in distress. In such instances, they are able to snap up distress properties at rock bottom prices and then they simply fix up the properties with a view to selling them further at a higher price and in the process make a tidy sum of money. As a matter of fact, it has been found that those who have used such simple strategies over the long term have succeeded so much that they have made enough money to turn into millionaires.

Different Reasons Why Distress Homes Are Put Up For Sale

The problem of course that one has to contend with at the very outset is that of learning how to find fixer-uppers. In this regard it should be mentioned that when a homeowner becomes distressed it may cause them to cease to properly maintain their properties and often, they may even end up falling behind in making the payments on their properties. What’s more, both buyers and sellers are known to have a number of different reasons why they get into real estate investing in fixer-uppers though common reasons include losing a job or going through a divorce and even illnesses and alcohol abuse can cause a seller to become distressed.

Whatever the reason why a homeowner becomes distressed, there is no doubt that the real loser in the equation is the property which will suffer because it won’t be properly maintained and payments on it too will start to be skipped and thus it becomes an ideal candidate for being sold as part of a fixer-upper strategy. And, among the most lucrative real estate investing opportunities that you will come across when it concerns fixer uppers are homes that are completely rundown, owned by a seller who is in the process of divorcing their spouse and those who can’t keep up with their mortgage payments.

Still, homes that are very ugly and which need fixing are really quite difficult to sell off because buyers for such homes are rather limited and not easy to convince to buy such type of homes. Obviously, homeowners prefer to put their real estate investing money in homes that don’t need much repair work because having to repair a home or upgrade it is not something a prospective homeowner will want when purchasing a home.

To be sure, most homebuyers need a property that is a home and not something to invest their hard-earned money in. Furthermore, when you are looking for fixer-uppers with real estate investing in mind you will also have to have contractors available who can make a home inhabitable with just a little work. Once you are sure that you want a contractor to repair and upgrade your home, you can then prospect for homes that are available at bargain prices. 

Typically, you should scout the advertisements that have terms such as as-is or fixer-upper or even handyman’s special or other similar terms that show you that the home requires some repair. Even a local real estate agent can point you in the right direction. If you stick in this line long enough, people will then come to understand that you are in the fixer-upper line of real estate investing and will then contact you with suitable and tempting fixer-upper deals.

Having located a suitable property, you then need to be sure about what the problem with the home is and then think of ways to solve such problems. Often, the problem may have a lot to do with financial constrains rather than requiring to physically repair the home and if such is the case, you can then get an even lower sales price for the property in question. However, be aware that fixer-uppers in real estate investing is a line in which you must always tread with great care and caution because even a small mistake can lead to disastrous consequences.

The bottom line is that you must first of all put together a good team and to also do home buying in a very careful and conservative manner. In addition, you should also be prepared to pay whatever it takes to repair the home and once you understand and act properly on these parameters you will find that fixer upper in real estate investing can fetch you plenty of money.

The U.S. Department of Energy has been given a mission of reducing fossil fuel dependence and pollution in the country. Its answer is the Million Solar Roof Initiative. 

Million Solar Roof Initiative – U.S. Department of Energy

For the past 20 years, the Department of Energy has been trying to motivate private industry to go solar. This motivation, however, has primarily been in the form of providing free education on solar platforms and how to install them on homes, buildings and power plants. As you might imagine, private industry has been less than enthusiastic about such efforts, but all of that is starting to change. 

Congress funds the Department of Energy and Congress is unhappy with the state of alternative energy sources.  Further, the federal political monster is also starting to react to all the heat being generated internationally by our massive production of greenhouse gases. In reaction, the proverbial whip has been laid to the Department of Energy and renewable energy is the hot subject. 

Greenhouse gases are produced by fossil fuels. The gases rise into the atmosphere and effectively act as insulation, which heats up the Earth. Rising temperatures are now melting glaciers throughout the world and are expected to start melting the polar ice caps. As this occurs, water levels will rise around the world and climatic changes are expected to be harsh. It is expected that the past hurricane season will be the least of our problems. 

In pursing the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, the Department of Energy hopes to reduce the production of greenhouse gases. If a million solar platforms are put up, the pollutant savings will be equivalent to the emissions produced by over 800,000 cars each year. 

To make the Million Solar Roofs Initiative viable, there has to be an economic component. Now there is. Congress has issued large tax credits for businesses and individuals that go solar. Rebate programs have also been initiated to help reduce the cost of purchasing a solar platform. Indeed, California just went forward with a 3.2 billion dollar rebate program on it’s own. Finally, the federal government is now providing solar platform loans as part of mortgage packages through entities such as Fannie Mae and FHA. Throw in concepts like net metering [selling power to utilities from your home or business], and going solar has never made so much sense. 

After years of playing lip service to non-fossil fuel energy, the federal government finally is getting serious about the proposition. The Million Solar Roofs Initiative is one such step.

As one journey’s through the rough terrain of real estate. You will find yourself amongst the company of those who share similar emotions: self-doubt, fear, concerns of risk, and an endless stream of questions. So why would one subject him or herself to such things if it causes so much of a headache in the short term?

The answer to that is simple: Real Estate is where the bling bling is! Seriously folks, no industry on earth has made millionaires of more people than those two words. 

OK so now you’ve decided it’s worth the risk, but you’ve heard so many different perspectives on results, methods, and a million different courses all claiming to be the cure to launch your own career in real estate. 

You may look into creating new homes and then selling the properties when the timing is right, or even rent them out. Many people follow this method and rehash the process over and over till they reach their financial goals. 

Others go about it a different way- such as finding a run down home (or constructing a new one) and then learn the tricks and trades of fixing up a home and finding out where the “pressure points” are that can drive the value of the property up like like firewords on the Fourth of July. Then they’d flip or sell it once it is done. 

Each method has it’s highlights and lowlights. Perhaps you should look into the one that “feels right” to you, and look into it a bit more. It’s not possible to become a master of everything in the beginning so just find something, learn how to make money from it, and make it happen as many times as it takes till you get your desired results.

Eventually, you will develop a sixth sense for “where the money is”. This is something that can only be learned through hard work, and experience, period!