Buying Real Estate In France

There are many so called French property ?consultants? based in the UK who are more than happy to help you achieve your dream of property ownership in France, however many of them are also very happy to lighten your wallet along the way.

French property sales to the British is now seriously big business and as with all industries that see a substantial growth in a short period of time, more players are tempted in to that market place to try get a ?slice of the action?.

Unfortunately for the opportunist player, getting established in France as an estate agent (Agent Immobilier) is a long and complicated process, as the industry is heavily regulated. Not just anyone is allowed to rent a shop, stick pictures of houses in the window and call themselves an estate agent. So for these players it is much easier to be based in the UK, away from the beady eyes of the French tax, social security and regulatory authorities and try and make it work for them that way.

After four years of substantial growth in the French property market we now see many British based businesses in the market place. Some claim to be French estate agents (Illegal unless they are a French business registered at the Prefecture as an immobilier); some want to charge you a huge consultancy fee (Not illegal, unless they ask for it after the seven days cooling off period has finished), and some even charge you to show you properties ? which is completely illegal in France ? but all the these players have one thing in common - they have some or all of their business based in the UK. And why is this? Because if they were based in France they would more than likely be closed down.

So what can you, the French property hunter do to protect yourself from a lot of sharp practises within the industry?

The following occurrences should set off alarm bells:-

Being asked to pay to register to receive property details

Being asked to pay to view properties

Being asked to pay any money to anyone before the 7 day cooling off period has finished

Being asked to meet an ?agent? anywhere other than their office, e.g. in a car park

Being asked to pay a second fee on top of the normal French estate agency fee for services that a registered agent or Notaire would provide you as part of their normal service

In short the only real way to protect yourself is to deal directly with a French registered Immobilier and best of all one who is a member of one of the two main trade bodies in France for estate agents, either FNAIM or SNPI. Only by dealing with a local registered immobilier are guaranteed to get a professional service for a fair fee.

Mark Russell, Limousin Homes - French property and real estate sales in the Limousin and Poitou Charentes

For more information and real estate in France visit http://www.limousinhomes.com/

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Las Vegas Nevada Real Estate

Nevada is a state in the western United States, well known for its widespread legalization of the gambling and gaming industry. When searching for a Las Vegas Nevada real estate, it is important to consult qualified brokers. The purchase of any type of residential or business real estate is an important decision. There are agencies, which have a network of local brokers and specialize in residential and commercial real estate. There are brokers who work individually also. In the case of a seller, the main objective is to sell the real estate property at the highest cost possible and as quickly as possible. The buyer desires to purchase the real estate at the lowest possible cost. It is essential to both to go through the transaction with no problems and no time wasted. Nevada real estate brokers assist buyers and sellers in this.

Experienced Nevada brokers primarily aim at meeting the demands of customers seeking to invest in real estate. They have a documented record in buying and selling real estate and are an ideal option to ensure the best deal possible. They are well aware of the market conditions and price fluctuation. This puts them in a position to be able to suggest the best price strategy. This helps to gain from the value of a Nevada real estate sale or purchase.

Nevada real estate agencies offer a selection of properties available for purchase and this is helpful to the real estate investors. These companies have websites that list Nevada's magnificent penthouses, condos, practically priced investment properties, single-family houses, sea front mansions and business properties. Every real estate list contains the properties available currently, house plans and elevations, builder models, pricing and square footage, neighborhood information and contact details. The information helps in securing good estate deals in Nevada.

Nevada provides detailed information on Nevada, Las Vegas Nevada Real Estate, Reno Nevada, Nevada Corporations and more. Nevada is affiliated with Napa Valley Wine Tours.

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Making the Fresh Start Presentation

So you are out and running your route and have found a homeowner home who wants to listen to a Fresh Start Presentation (FSP). Remember the Fresh Start Presentation is the Homeowner Options slide show that you have. It goes through the advantages and disadvantages of the seven (7) options available to the financially distressed homeowner. They are as follows:
1)Sell on the Open Market
2)Refinance the home
3)Restructure the mortgage
4)File bankruptcy
5)Borrow from friends and family
6)Let it go to foreclosure
7)Sell to an investor

Whether you have scheduled an appointment or have just knocked the door the opportunity to make the presentation will lead to money for you. So what is the best way to make the presentation? Do you start with the overview and then go through each option? Do you ask some preliminary questions and get to the homeowners present position or do you just get to the price we will pay for the home and leave it at that?

The answer depends upon the homeowner and your preparation for your visit with the homeowner. Remember ?Information is power and the key to a successful negotiation and purchase of your next home or investment property?. So if you have failed to prepare for your meeting with the homeowner your chances of success are diminished. We try to gather information for you and put it in the notes. Some information can be gathered by going over the pricing of the home when you have a scheduled appointment. The rest of the information will come from the homeowners? needs and wants and honest eyes.

What follows are typical situations you will run into in the field and what assumptions you should make if you run into these types of situations. They are 1) Research indicates that the home is on the market. 2) Home is vacant; 3) Homeowner just came out of Bankruptcy.

Home on the Market

What assumptions can we make if the home is placed on the market?
1) We know that they are willing to leave the home and move on with their lives.

2) The Homeowners have cut the emotional attachment to the home.
3) They have either eliminated or exhausted the following options: refinance, restructure and borrowing from friends and relatives.
From this we can make the following conclusion: The homeowner is left with the bankruptcy option and selling on the open market or to us. Here is a note from a locator regarding a house that is on the market.

Visited 8/12/06; 1PM. Met HO in driveway. HO's are divorced and selling the property. Home vacant. Property is listed with Briarwood Realty. Presented the Fresh Start Program to HO's. Interior of the home is broom swept condition already. Good condition. Husband was ready to give release, wife not willing to give release today. Wife indicated that she would like to take a few days and to talk with the bank on Monday. We agreed to contact each other on Tuesday 8/15/06. I left contact info with them and received their contact info as well. Will take complete set of photos when I get the release. Both HO's confirm that they have equity in the property.

Now what part of the FSP would you pitch to get the release? How do you begin the process? If I knew the number they had placed on the house, I would talk about market time, home inspections and the possibility of an unsavory investor tying them up until it is too late and purchasing at the auction.

If I did not know the market number I would ask for the price and how long it has been sitting on the market.

This type of presentation should begin with a back-up plan or safety net plan. It should inform the homeowners that we could possibly purchase the property in a quick fashion and net them some money for their fresh start. We would do this by making a deal with the listing broker to continue to list the property after we purchased it. Saving the homeowners the cost of the broker. We could also inform them that they would not have the carrying costs, insurance, taxes, and foreclosure costs that are currently stacking up on the property. All of this may add up to a less stressful conveyance than waiting out a slow market. If you are fairly new at locating just use the making the offer to the homeowner chart to walk you through the offer: This chart is located on the resource page of the website.

When a home is on the market it is fairly difficult to get a homeowner to agree to sell the property to an investor. Reasons are that some mortgage broker has told them that they can sell their home for a number we will not pay. Only time and an auction date will usually make this homeowner come around. A smart locator will make the pitch for the backup plan and wait until it is close to the auction to return for a final opportunity to purchase the property. In the meantime just call the homeowner every week or ten days to check in on their situation. This will allow you to have a continuing dialogue and build some type of relationship with the homeowner.

HOME IS VACANT

What assumptions can we make if the home is vacant?

1) We know that they are willing to leave the home and move on with their lives (they already have).
2) The Homeowners have cut the emotional attachment to the home.
3) That the house is costing the homeowner carrying costs each and every day. We can stop the bleeding by purchasing the home.
4) Homeowner should be happy to unload the property.

Here is a note of a recent vacant home visit:

Visited 8/12/06; 3:15PM. HO not home. Left into letter in the door with personal note. Spoke with the neighbor to get an update on this property. Mailbox is full. Shrubs and vines have overgrown the yard and cover the primary entrance to the house. Lawn has not been mowed in months. Neighbor says that the owner is a great person. He seems to think that the owner has another residence in Marshfield. This property had been up for sale. The HO has been trying to sell it for almost 2 years. He believes that the last listing was $249K. He also has been in the house and said that a lot of work has been done on the inside. Driveway is not paved. Otherwise, nice neighborhood. Dead end street with playground for children. This property is on the quiet end of the street directly across from the playground, corner lot. Looks like a good investment. We will need to track this person down.

Once the homeowner is found the pitch would be straight to the sale of the property to our company. There is little need to go through the rest of the options with this homeowner. It would simply be straight to the sale of the property. Again, this particular note tells us that he had it on the market for 249,000 dollars for two years or so. So we could easily tell him that the price of the property is too high and substitute it for the price that we would sell the property at. (see your manager or the index for the price). Next, I would use the Homeowner chart again to go through the price we could offer on the house and why. Once you as a locator get familiar with the costs associated with a home you can forego using the chart.

This vacant property purchase should be fairly easy once we have tracked down the homeowner. There is no emotional attachment, in fact the homeowner should be relieved to get rid of the property. I would stay on your manager to find these owners and provide you with the means to make a deal.

JUST OUT OF BANKRUPTCY OR IN BANKRUPTCY BUT IS LIQUIDATING THE PROPERTY TO PAY FOR THE PLAN.

What assumptions can we make if the home just came out of bankruptcy?

1) We know that they are finished with most of the options. They can file bankruptcy again but it will not help them.
2) The Homeowners can try to refinance but the cost of the mortgage will be astronomical.
3) That the homeowner has tried everything to save the home and failed.

Here the homeowners have been through the entire process. They have borrowed money from friends and relative, tried to restructure, and refinance the home as well as save it in bankruptcy plan by forcing a payment plan on the bank. Nothing has worked. You need to allow the homeowner a way out with dignity if possible. That may come from you just purchasing the property and giving them enough to begin renting.

They only have two real options left: 1) sell on the open market or sell to us. Your job is to explain to them the problem of selling on the open market with only weeks to go to the auction is not a viable option. The real option is trying to get some equity out by selling to us.

This type of purchase has to be performed with surgical precision. You have homeowners who are emotionally drained from the process of trying to save the home. They trust nobody including the lawyer who took them into bankruptcy and feel like everyone has screwed them. If you are empathetic now would be the time to show it.

Here is a note on a property where this happened.
7/31 note: Relief from stay of auction granted.
11/05 note: In chapter 13 now. He isn't interested in hearing our option as the thought of selling his home makes him cringe. He did agree with me that selling is better than losing to auction. He has the auction stayed for some time now. Let?s keep an eye on his bankruptcy. This is a good home.

From the note the locator has been watching this house since early November 2005. Long time to check in on the property, but it is getting ready to payoff. The new note indicates that the bank has now received the right to foreclose upon the property. It is usually the step before the bankruptcy being dismissed.

The locator will now need to go out to the home and listen to the story of the bankruptcy and convince this homeowner that it is best to sell the home instead of losing it to the bank. This homeowner really does not want to sell the house in fact he would rather stay in the house. With that in mind it is going to be a tough sell.

Again, this pitch should be a straight up number crunching pitch going through the items on the chart. Remember you are going to have to deal with the emotional tie to this house. From the note it is quite evident that this particular homeowner has this tie. When I make the pitch I usually talk about the house as sticks and bricks which is not really a home. The home is his family and the memories which they get to bring with them to the new house they will be occupying. If you can get through the emotional you will purchase the house.

good hunting
http://frontgateconsulting.com/

http://frontgateconsulting.com/

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Avoiding Discriminatory Real Estate Practices

Real estate agents should never say or imply that the presence of persons of a particular protected class (race, national origin, etc.) in a neighborhood could or will result in:

lower property values;

a change in the composition of the neighborhood;

a more dangerous neighborhood; or

a decline in the quality of the schools in the neighborhood.

Most real estate agents would not act in an overtly discriminatory way; for example, they wouldn?t raise the listing price because of the race of the prospective buyer. Yet some of these same agents might tell racial or ethnic jokes or make derogatory remarks about a particular group of people.

Although these jokes or remarks don?t necessarily indicate a willingness to actually discriminate in a transaction, a listener might assume that they do. Even listening or going along with inappropriate remarks can give the impression that the agent agrees with these discriminatory attitudes. Agents need to watch out for signs of such attitudes, in order to avoid helping others violate antidiscrimination laws.

Listing agents should make sure the seller is willing to follow the law, and decline to take the listing if the seller is not.Real estate agents should also provide equal service to buyers and sellers without regard to their race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, familial status, age, or disability. For example, an agent should never refuse to show a property to a potential buyer based on discriminatory reasons.

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