Real Estate Investing Advice & Information

What are the Thailand real estate hunter’s options? Are there legal mechanisms that may allow foreigners to secure guaranteed and uninterrupted access to the land and use of the land for his lifetime?

Option 1:

1 Rai of land – 40 million Baht in Thailand.

A foreigner may be allowed to own up to 1 Rai of land in his/her name if he/she brings 40 million Baht into the country. Conditions apply.

Option 2:

Long-term lease from current owner.

This option is also known as ‘never ending’ lease option by the owner. The lease agreement will specify negotiated balloon payments at 1, 3 or 5 years intervals. This may be a good option if the leasee does not want to commit a large amount of money up front. continue reading…

A monumental land survey is a type of land survey dealing specifically with the boundaries of the property. All monumental land surveys use physical monuments to mark the boundaries on the land itself. Commonly, the corners of the property are marked with a long iron rod driven vertically into the ground, though there are many other types of physical monuments which may be used.

These monuments are designed to be as permanent as possible, though land surveyors many decades ago used wooden posts or natural features which may be destroyed over time, making it difficult to re-trace their work today. Monuments in use today will have a cap on top of the iron rod identifying the surveyor who placed it.

This physical monument allows the easy finding of the boundaries and corners of the property when one is physically on the land, although the monumental land survey itself does have some limitations as far as the other information provided. For example, it usually is not concerned with any improvements on the property, such as fences or homes, and will not determine whether these were built to code or conform to zoning regulations. continue reading…

If you want to build a career as an equestrian, then you may be looking for a place ideal for horse rearing. You also want a place where you can ride everyday and practice the jumps over fixed obstacles, endurance riding and reining.

In looking for a equestrian real property, it is very dependent on what type of rider you are. An equestrian, who does riding as a professional, may have certain qualities and facilities that need to be present in their property, as opposed to those who just ride for fun.

However, if you are into equestrian real estate, here are the common things that you should look into:

1. The size of the land- Most equestrian properties are made of acres of land. It is vast and filled with greenery so horses can run freely within the property. Experts in horse rearing also mentioned it should also have trees because in warm days, horses would also need a shade to cool down in an afternoon ride. continue reading…

Environmental processing for land development in California is not an easy process. California is home to some of the most endangered and threatened animal and plant resources in the world. To protect these resources, governmental agencies have created strict environmental guidelines, non-profit organizations, and neighborhood groups have been formed to assist in ensuring that land development occurs with limited or no impact to these species and quite often delay the processing of land development projects. However, there is a state program called the Natural Communities Conservation Program (a.k.a NCCP) that attempts to allow development to occur within certain areas, streamlining the environmental and developmental process.

California is home to many endangered species such as the California gnatcatcher, Steven’s Kangaroo Rat, California Red-Legged Frog, Fairy Shrimp, California Tiger Salamander, Otay Tarplant, Del Mar Manzanita, and Quino Checkerspot Butterfly. As protected species, many of them are indigenous to California and do not exist in any other places in the world. For these reasons, strict guidelines such as the California Environmental Quality Act (a.k.a. CEQA) and Federal Endangered Species Act (a.k.a. FESA) had to be created to protect these species by governmental agencies such as the California Department of Fish and Game (a.k.a. CDFG) and United States Fish and Wildlife Service (a.k.a. USFWS). In addition, non-profits such as the Surfrider Foundation and Sierra Club have played an important role in assisting in the monitoring of these regulations.

Both the USFWS and CDFG play a vital role in enforcing species protection. On a national level, the USFWS plays a key role in enforcing the FESA. On a state level, the CDFG enforces protection of these species as well as more California specific endangered species. As part of the development process, both of these agencies are consulted to ensure that a project’s impacts are “reduced to a less than significant level” or can be “mitigated to a less than significant level.” If impacts can not be reduced to a less than significant level, “findings of overriding considerations” need to be prepared by the lead agency (usually a municipal agency) to state that the project’s public benefits outweigh its environmental impacts. The typical environmental process takes at least 3 months; however, more complex projects may take years to obtain environmental approval. For more information about the California environmental process, please see the CEQA process in the “Resource Center.” (Highlight Resource Center and have it link to Resource Center on the website). continue reading…

I let out a big sigh when one of my students called me. He talked with a landowner who lived in Michigan but owned a parcel of land in Florida. The landowner was interested in selling but said that first he was going to call a Realtor in Florida to determine the value of the property.

So why did I sigh? My experience says that they are going to contact the wrong person and get bad advice (mostly in regards to price). Ultimately the deal will fall through.

Most sellers don’t understand that they cannot contact just ANY Realtor to help them make an informed decision. They are best served to contact a Realtor who is experienced in land. It is the same dynamic if I am considering buying a self storage complex. I don’t call ANY Realtor – I find one who understands how to value commercial properties.

Sounds simple doesn’t it? I have had too many experiences in negotiating with landowners where the deal was derailed by a Realtor who didn’t have experience valuing land. This isn’t a knock against Realtors in general. continue reading…

A digital terrain model, also known as a digital elevation model, is a digitally-created representation of ground topography and terrain. Although maps depicting topographical information have been produced for hundreds of years, it is only recently that such elevation data has been collected in such a precise digital form as to allow the creation of digital models.

The digital elevation model can be used to model water flow or other movements, for example to run simulated avalanches or landslides, or for land-use studies, transportation system planning, and geological applications. Other uses include the creation of physical raised-relief maps, flight simulator programs, or other visualization and modeling applications. Digital terrain models are also incorporated into geographic information systems.

There are many ways to obtain the information shown in a digital terrain map. Often this data is obtained using remote sensing equipment rather than direct surveying methods. Radar satellites are often used for models of large areas of terrain. Though these satellites often only have a resolution of about ten meters, they can obtain information on an area tens of miles wide in a single pass. There are other methods, too. A pair of images acquired with different angles taken from an airplane or satellite can be used to infer the terrain. The first digital terrain models using this method were created in 1986 for a large portion of the planet using data from the SPOT 1 satellite. continue reading…

Most people purchase vacant land because they are planning to build their dream home on it, in near future. However, that’s not the only motive for buying a piece of vacant land. It can turn out to be a great investment and you can use it for commercial purposes as well. In some cases, land investment proves to be better than investing in built properties, as it relieves you of duties like having home inspection, checking for the quality of material used in construction, or going through the chores of home renovation in case of old buildings. Nevertheless, purchasing vacant land for any of the above mentioned purposes (personal use or investment) is not that simple. You’re ought to take care of the following aspects.

Location:
This one is obvious; the first point to think over is the location. For residential purpose, the land should ideally be situated at some well established residential area with all the amenities in surroundings. It should not be situated at some busy road (vice versa if you are planning to use it for commercial purpose). Make sure there are roads in place (or at least under construction) for easy access. If you are buying land for a second home, try getting your hands on some land at a vocational point, such as countryside or hill stations. continue reading…

Tree-lined tropical beaches whose warmth is exceeded only by the friendly people who live in Costa Rica, spectacular birds and flowers whose intense colors rival those of an erupting volcano, activities ranging from whitewater rafting and surfing to sport fishing and golf…With so much variety, there’s guaranteed to be something to suit everyone’s taste! The climate is idyllic with temperatures ranging between the eighty and ninety degrees Fahrenheit. If that’s not enough to make you drool, then here are a few facts on why Costa Rica is one of the hottest markets around.

It’s a country that has no military, a stable democracy, and a government that encourages investors with no restrictions and entitles them to the same ownership rights as Costa Rican citizens.

Costa Rica is still at the start of a boom in property prices. You can still buy low enough to see double digit profits or more. That along with no capital gains tax is a winner for any investor.

What do you look for when investing in Costa Rica?

Look for areas that are not booming at this moment, but have the infrastructure, such as new roads and other large projects in development nearby. continue reading…

Real estate can be fun if things are going good for you. However it can really be a drag if you have gotten into a bad situation and complicated your life. And by that I mean that maybe you have bought a house to rehab and it takes a lot longer and cost a lot more than you had thought it would and now you can’t sell it for enough to break even. Or that you have bought a tract of land that has too many problems such as green belts, to allow for a profit and now what do you do?

There are ways to stay out of trouble and I feel very strongly that the subject should be addressed. Basically it involves going out “on a limb” with a property by being too optimistic. Sometimes you will feel that there is something “wrong” with a property yet you will rationalize it away, such as, “The payments are going to be too high… but I can make some improvements and raise the rents.”

Or, “The access to this parcel of land is only a 20′ easement but I can acquire a larger easement for a small amount of money.” Or, “These aren’t the best terms and conditions but I can live with the arrangement.”
There is no reason to continue with the examples as I as sure you understand what I am talking about.

Think about this; don’t let your optimistic personality cause you to rationalize anything that has made you basically uncomfortable. If some of the pieces are not fitting too well, then back out or get betters terms, etc. You don’t want to be a pessimistic individual but sometime you should be pessimistic and question further the arrangement you are getting into. continue reading…

Real estate can be considered an art form and it can take a long time to master the art of investing. The key for any new RE investor that is just starting out is to just focus on one area at a time. Let’s discuss that different possibilities that are available to you.

Buying Land – While this method is probably not the most glamorous, it is definitely profitable. Historically, land has appreciated in value each and every year. The key is to buy at a good price and be able to hold on to it for several years. Many people have accumulated millions of dollars using this method. However, you must know the market and where it is headed.

If you thing that buying raw land is a good option for you, you have several exit strategies. One is to develop the land. While this will incur other costs, the rewards will also be greater. A couple of good development deals and you shouldn’t have to worry about money any more. continue reading…