You have a fabulous home in a great location, yet it’s been sitting on the market for months with little or no interest. What can you do?

Real estate is a fickle business with markets fluctuating according to season, the economy and supply and demand. The general market aside, there could be other reasons your great home isn’t selling.

One of the top reasons great homes don’t sell is because they are overpriced. Setting a sale price for your home is tricky business. You want to get the maximum possible return on the sale without alienating potential buyers with a too-high price. Many home sellers also mistakenly think padding the price of their home gives them an opportunity to negotiate down toward a more reasonable selling price. While this may seem logical, your initial high price may be driving away potential buyers put off by your over-valuation of your home. They may think your home is simply out of their price range, or that you are being greedy or unreasonable in your thinking.

It is important to price your house according to the market in which it is located. For example, a house located near schools and other amenities may sell for more than an identical house situated in a remote area with few amenities. Additionally, if there are a lot of houses for sale in your neighbourhood, it becomes a buyers’ market and you may not be able to secure the price you think you should get if your neighbors are willing to go lower. Finally, there are trade-offs when selling your house: a lower price usually means a larger market of potential buyers and a faster sale while a higher price means a smaller market of potential buyers and a slower sale. If you are determined to get a certain price for your home, you must be prepared to wait to get it.

Another reason your house may not be selling is exposure. Are you trying to sell it yourself? If so, it may be difficult to arrange showings around your work and family schedule, therefore limiting the potential for a sale. Listing your house with a realtor may give you the exposure boost you need to sell your home. Not only does a realtor have more flexibility in showing your home, he or she will also advertise the house and list it on the widely used MLS (Multiple Listing Service) website.

Even if your house is listed with a realtor, it may not be attracting buyers because of a poor photo on the MLS listing, advertising or feature sheets. Many potential buyers will dismiss a home as a possibility based on the impression made by the photo they see.

Other issues to consider include:

Is your house clean and neat? This is vital to making a strong impression on potential buyers. Clutter is not desirable, so take time to sift through your belongings and get rid of the stuff you don’t need or want. Throw out the junk and donate the rest of your unwanted possessions to charity. Even after going through your things, you may have too much stuff in plain view. Organize your closets and cabinets to fit more in, and if there is still too much, buy some plastic containers and store the stuff you don’t use very often in the tubs, which you can stack neatly in the basement. This may be inconvenient, but it will improve the look of your home.

Curb appeal: does your home look neat and welcoming from the street? It is in good repair? Just like with photographs, your home is judged on its appearance from the street. Increase your chance of a buyer being interested by spending a few minutes ensuring your house looks great.

Dated décor can reduce the appeal of your home. Replace old flooring, apply new paint, and add a slip cover to your or unstylish furniture. Changing the hardware in your kitchen is a great way to modernize its look without spending a lot of money. If you have old, stained or smelly carpet, it should be removed. In fact, this may be a bonus as you could uncover lovely hardwood underneath the carpet.

Odor control. We may love our pets, but not everyone does. Make sure kitty’s litter box is fresh (and out of the way!), and that hair and musty pet blankets are out of sight. As mentioned above, smelly carpet isn’t appealing. If your pet has soiled the carpet, it should be professionally cleaned or removed.

5 tricks to make it big with real estate investing

Real estate investing is one of the most attractive ways of making good money (that is if you do it correct). Moreover, real estate investing is also a lot of fun. A lot of people practice real estate investing as their core profession and, in fact, make a lot of money that way.

Real estate investing is really an art and, like any art, it takes time to master the art of real estate investing. The key, of course, is to buy at a lower price and sell at higher price and make a profit even after paying all the costs involved in the two (buy/sell) transactions. Generally, people are of the opinion that real estate investing makes sense only when the rates are on the rise. However, real estate investing for profits is possible just about any time (and as I just said, real estate investing is an art). Here is a list of tricks that can make real estate investing profitable for you:

1) Look for public auctions, divorce settlements and foreclosures (bank/FHA/VA): Since quick settlement is the preference here (and not price), you might get a property at a price that is much lower than the prevailing market rate. You can then make arrangements to sell it at the market rate over a short period of time. However, make sure that the property is worth the price you are paying.
2) Looking for old listings: The old listings that are still unsold may provide you with good real estate investing opportunities. Just get hold of an old newspaper and call up the sellers. They might have given up hope of selling that property at all and with a bit of negotiation you can get the property for a real low price.
3) The hidden treasure: A really old (and dirty) looking house may scare off buyers. But this might be your chance for real estate investing that can yield good profits. So, explore such properties and check if spending a bit on them can make them shine. You can get these at very low prices and make a big profit in a short time.
4) Team up with attorneys: There are a number of attorneys who handle property sales on behalf of sellers or in special circumstances (like the death of the property owner). They might sometimes be looking to dispose off the property rather quickly and hence at a low price. Be the first one to grab such real estate investing opportunities and enjoy the profits.
5) Keep tab on the newspaper announcements: Property sell offs due to deaths, divorce settlements, immediate cash requirements and other reason are frequently announced in local papers. Keep track of such real estate investing avenues.

Real Estate Investment Trust: Enabling you to be a part of the party

Real estate is a big business and everyone seems to want to invest in real estate. You keep hearing a lot of stories about how people made a quick buck by investing in real estate. There are stories about people who made $50000 in a fortnight by making the right kind of investment in real estate. Every now and then, newspapers keep coming up with statistics about the appreciation in the real estate prices. There seems a mad rush for investing in real estate (and this gets even bigger when the mortgage interest rates are falling). However, not everyone has the time, money and expertise to be able to profitably invest in real estate. So what does one do? Is there any other option?

Yes, there is another way of investing in real estate and that is through Real Estate Investment Trust. Real Estate Investment Trust is an organisation that invests in real estate as a full fledged business. By investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust, you can become part of the real estate investment party and enjoy profits (of course, the assumption here is that the Real Estate Investment Trust is good and professionally managed).

Investing in Real Estate Investment Trust is very easy too. You can just buy Real Estate Investment Trust shares which trade on all major exchanges. There are certain laws governing the Real Estate Investment Trusts that help them avoiding the tax at corporate levels e.g. it is mandated that Real Estate Investment Trust’s portfolio has 75 percent of investment in real estate. Moreover, 75% of the income of Real Estate Investment Trust must be from rents or mortgage interest. There are various types of Real Estate Investment Trusts. Some Real Estate Investment Trusts own properties themselves and hence feed on the rental income from those properties. Some others indulge in providing only mortgage loans or go for mortgage backed securities. Then there are Real Estate Investment Trusts which do both i.e. rental focussed investments and mortgage based investments.

There are a number of Real Estate Investment Trusts operating in the market and a lot of these Real Estate Investment Trusts are doing good business. By investing in Real Estate Investment Trust you are basically investing in real estate without actually buying a property yourself. This is one easy way of investing in real estate (and much safer too). You must surely evaluate this option for your real estate investments.

Someone you know—a friend, perhaps—desperately needs to buy a new car. She asks you to co-sign a loan for her, pledging wholeheartedly to pay it off herself. What do you do? Before you decide to sign on the dotted line, make sure you’re aware of the possible consequences of co-signing a loan.

Why do some people need a co-signer in the first place? In most cases, the lending institution has determined that your friend is not eligible to receive the loan. This could be due to several reasons. Maybe your friend has not established enough credit history to qualify for such a loan. Or, in the worse case scenario, your friend’s credit history has been deemed risky enough to be denied the loan. In any case, the bottom line is that your friend was considered a lending risk, and thus, is not able to get the loan on her own. That’s where you come in.

Before you make a decision, know that the Federal Trade Commission has reported that, in cases where a loan goes into default, as many as three out of four co-signers are ultimately deemed responsible for repayment. These figures were derived from studies conducted among certain kinds of lenders, but you should keep the possibility of repaying the loan in mind if you decide to co-sign.

What other risks may you face if you decide to co-sign? In many states, if the borrower misses a payment, the lender can go straight to you. You may be responsible for late charges and attorney’s fees, and you run the risk of losing any collateral you may have set against the loan. In some cases, your wages could be garnished, or you may even face a lawsuit. Even if you avoid these risks, the loan you co-signed most likely will appear on your credit report as a credit liability. This could eventually lower your credit score, which may hamper your ability to gain access to credit if you plan to make any large purchases during the life of the loan.

If you’re still contemplating whether to co-sign, consider whether you would be able to pay off the loan on your own, in the case that your friend defaults. Even if your friend is reliable and gainfully employed, there is always the distinct possibility that she could somehow become unable to continue making payments. Are you willing and able to continue making payments if that were to happen? If you imagine this type of scenario would cause you great financial burden, perhaps you are not the best candidate to co-sign.

But if you ultimately agree to co-sign on a loan, there are some precautions you can take to make the process as easy and painless as possible. First, read over all documents carefully. Understand what kind of loan you are signing for, and all the terms for the loan. Ask the lender to clarify anything that you don’t understand, or that seems ambiguous. Also, make certain to get copies of all paperwork.

Most importantly, try to establish some specific terms with the individual you are co-signing for and the lender. One important term to establish is that you should only be responsible for the primary balance. This will help you avoid any late charges that may stem from the original balance. Also, in the case that the lending institution decides to sue, you will avoid being responsible for legal fees. Another important term to try to establish is that the lender should notify you in the case of any late payments. This allows you to become aware if any problems should arise, and you will be able to take control of the situation before matters become more complicated.

Even though co-signing for a loan may sound risky, there are certain situations where the practice is wholly reasonable. Parents, for instance, routinely co-sign for their children in order to help them establish credit, and to aid them in making large important purchases.

But what about your friend—do you co-sign, or not? The decision is ultimately yours, though it would be wise to balance the risks carefully. If you decide to co-sign, be prepared to treat the loan as if it were your own.