Real Estate Investing Advice & Information

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…

Brazil is the largest country with the best economy and the most stability in Latin and South America. Brazil is possibly the best investment market in the world today. The politically stable government of President Lula is continuously investing in the country’s infrastructure and reaping the rewards of the growing market for Brazil tourism. Therefore the possibility of investing in Brazil deserves a closer look.

Brazil is as warm all year round as its people. It is helped by it abundant natural resources, a climate as good as anywhere in the world, plus thousands of miles of beautiful beaches and virgin coastline.

Foreign investment is being actively encouraged by the Ministry of Tourism and in the northeast of Brazil there are increasing rental opportunities and yields. Global leisure companies are investing in Brazil and the popular destinations in the north east of Brazil have seen capital appreciation of over 20% per year already. continue reading…

It is every individual’s dream to live in a big home that is fully furnished, luxurious outdoor space and with a very beautiful architectural structure. It is really delightful to live in a home like this. In this case, it would be better if you are going to live in a Miami luxury home with a backyard view of the ocean. Having this kind of home and ambiance then it is really luxurious type of lifestyle.

Miami is a well known city because of the different real estate options and the things that it can offer to people. Most of the home in Miami is made from luxurious styles and designs. The Miami luxury home comes with the variety to choose from. You can check out their single-family homes, impressive homes of those luxurious condo units. These properties are fully furnished with world class furnishings and high tech appliances that will make everything easy for you. Aside from the luxurious interior accessories, some of these properties have their own tennis court, golf course, swimming pools and playground for children. And what makes it more gorgeous is its landscape.

In searching for the right Miami luxury home, you have to choose first the right neighborhood that will fit your needs and wants. There are lots of luxury homes around Miami, but finding the right home is one of the important aspects that you must give importance. There are luxury properties that are near to the different establishments. There are also situated near to those entertainment and recreational amenities. You just have to determine the right community for you and for sure you will find the right one. Most of these properties are in the center of the different establishments and amenities and this is the reason why these properties become so popular for those people who can afford to have them. 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…

There are many signs to watch for when looking for the best time to purchase a home or property. Keep your eyes on the classifieds in the local newspaper. Many sellers will list their home without a real estate agent or broker in order to save on closing costs. Also, check the legal notices for properties going into foreclosure. These notices will give the address of the property. It may be possible to arrange a private sale with the owner, avoiding the process of foreclosure. Some of these properties may be eligible for a short sale which is making arrangements with the lender to accept a price lower than the balance due on the mortgage. Many Open House signs in a neighbourhood indicate many sellers anxious to find a buyer. Check with local real estate agents for the number of houses on the market, and the length of time they have been listed. When there are many properties on the market, sellers are anxious to find buyers.

When interest rates begin to rise, some buyers will stay out of the market, making a favourable purchase more likely. Prices fall as interest rates rise. Another rule of thumb when considering whether to buy in your market is to compare rents for similar properties. What would the house you are looking at rent for? If the potential annual rent is more than 6% of the purchase price, it is not a good buy.

When considering whether now is a good time to invest in real estate, take into account whether the market where you live has stabilized. If prices are still going down, you may find yourself owing more on the property you have just purchased than the market value a year or two from now. That would mean that unless you intend on holding on to the property for a long time, you might be trapped in a home with no equity. It would be impossible to refinance for repairs or renovations, or to lock in a lower mortgage rate. continue reading…

One of the priorities in evaluating where you want to live is that you’ll be near most establishments without compromising the safety of your family. Living in Allied Gardens in East San Diego, means you’re centrally located and within reach of things that are important like schools, entertainment, sports and service-oriented shops. Other points of interest or destinations and attractions are also just a short drive away.

It looks like that now is the right time to buy a home in Allied Gardens as more and more people are beginning to see the value in living in this neighborhood. Looking at figures from DQNews for June 2009, they show an increase of 35% in new home sales for an averaged-price home (roughly $530,000+). People who are looking for a family-friendly neighborhood to start or establish their own family are finding Allied Gardens the perfect spot. 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…

Investor interest in the Turkish real estate market has been steadily on the increase, despite the downturn affecting various other world property markets. Not only is the investment market progressively growing, lifestyle purchases are gaining appeal from many European buyers.

Buying a property for either investment or lifestyle follows a very straight forward process, where additional incentives have been imposed by the Turkish government to further attract buyers. These incentives include the temporary lowering of title deed fees, along with the absence of capital gains taxes on properties re-sold after a specific time period.

Interest in Turkey’s sought after emerging real estate market has developed significantly with various benefits including pre-EU property prices, strong capital growth, economic stability and ideal buy-to-let market opportunities.

The payment of a holding deposit will be required once the property to be purchased has been selected. The holding deposit may vary between developers or agents, yet usually amounts to approximately €3,000 or £2,000. The holding deposit will remove the property from sales listings while the legal paperwork and due diligence is carried out.

Variations in payment schedules will occur between re-sale and off-plan properties, as often re-sale properties will require the buyer to move directly into the completion phase once the legal due diligence has been carried out. Once the due diligence has returned a satisfactory result for moving ahead with the sale, a reservation deposit will be paid. The reservation deposit will also vary between developments and can range between approximately 10% and 40% of the purchase price. Part of the legal fees may also be required at the reservation deposit phase. continue reading…

This article looks at  for the beach cities area of the South Bay and of Palos Verdes starting back in 2001. I noticed there were three distinct phases of the market when looking at it in the aggregate. The first phase was characterized by what can be thought of as a shift in the demand of homes. From 2001 to 2002, this manifested as an increase in both the number of units sold and the average sales price of the homes. Something changed going into 2003 and it maintained course for the next few years thereafter. For these years, the number of sales declined, but their prices were still increasing. This can, perhaps, be thought of as a shift in the supply curve. The third (and current) phase started after 2007 when both the quantity of sales and the average sales price started dropping. It’s as though the market seems to be trying to find an equilibrium price, if you will, after the capital market crash of 2007 and the downward shift in the economy since. continue reading…