Ways in which the media misleads about foreclosures!

We all know that headlines earn readers… I found these stats and thought I would pass them along… Look at the kind of “numbers” the media is using to scare folks!

1. Gross foreclosure “FILINGS” versus actual foreclosures! (60% of “filings” do NOT results in a foreclosure!). If 100 people have forclosure proceedings filed against them, 60 of them will not be foreclosed upon.

2. Number of “FILINGS” versus number of PROPERTIES. (There are SEVERAL “filings” just for ONE property! Whether it ever actually gets foreclosed-upon or not! They count “filings,” NOT properties!)

3. Most of the time, the media IGNORES foreclosure cancellations, redemptions, & title changes that occur INSTEAD of ACTUAL foreclosures!

So, long story short, let everyone ELSE jump from tall buildings, sell all their real estate investments on the cheap, and get out of the business.

Remember, BIG bucks are made when the market is in CHAOS!

How to tip like a pro!

Lee’s Notes:  I generally tip at 15-20%, but I thought this was an interesting article.

The restaurant waiter/waitress
This is the one that causes most debate because there is no hard and fast rule. It is also made even more difficult by waiting staff who have lost sight of the fact that a tip is a gratuity and is not actually required. As a guideline though, I’d say you can safely use the following without a disgruntled waiter spitting in your salad:

Self-serve/Buffet restaurant – 10-12%. If the service was fantastic, you could up this to 15%.
Local restaurant – 15%. Again, you could up this by a few percent if the server worked particularly hard or went out of their way to help you.
A 4-star restaurant – You’ll want to tip the maitre d’ as you’re being seated, particularly if you’re a regular and he/she goes out of their way to reserve you a table or get a table when the restaurant is busy. The standard tip here is anywhere from $20-100. For the service of the meal itself I’d recommend a tip of around 20-22%. Don’t forget to tip the wine steward (a few dollars per bottle of wine) and/or the coat check attendant ($1 for a couple of coats).

Taxi driver
Unless you want to annoy the Travis Bickle-esque taxi driver by stiffing him on a tip you’d better go ahead and give 15% of the fare.

Hair salon
You want to make sure your hair looks as good as possible and tipping will ensure that your hair stylist gives a polished cut. They’ll also be more likely to look after you next time you visit too (I’ve been given a free colour before simply for tipping well). An acceptable amount is somewhere in the region of 10-15% of the cost.

Hotel staff
There are a number of staff members at the hotel that can make your stay very pleasant or a living nightmare depending on how you tip them. Here’s who you should tip and how much to give them:

Chambermaid - $5 per night you stay. That is, if you want clean sheets, towels and plenty of toilet roll.
Room service waiter - Again this is the standard 15%.
Bellhop - If you let the bellhop carry your bags up to your room and show you around said room without giving them a tip then you’re going to hell. Tip them around $10-15 for their efforts.

The casino
If you’re going for a night out at the casino, you better be prepared to tip. Of course if you’re a professional gambler (or just extremely lucky) you’ll be able to tip from your winnings.

Blackjack dealer – $5 chip (or more) per session. It’s also common place in casinos for the players to place a small side bet for the dealers. You can agree the amount with other players but a $1 chip is usually sufficient.
Craps dealer - Those craps dealers love the action as much as you. It’s common to place up to a 10% side bet for the dealer.
Poker dealer – $5 per session. Winners usually tip at least $10 and sometimes as much as 10% on bigger wins.
Drink waitresses - $1 chip per drink.

Parking attendant
You don’t want some juvenile attendant ruining your prized Bentley Continental because you didn’t tip the lad, do you? On second thoughts, why would you let a juvenile attendant park your prized Bentley Continental unless you’re asking for trouble?

You should tip, at the very least $1 ($5 if they help with your luggage) but I would tip a little extra to get a better level of service. Perhaps $10-15 to make sure they don’t take it for a joy-ride á la Ferris Bueller. Oh, that reminds me, always check the mileage of the car before handing it over to a parking attendant!

But what if I don’t want to give a tip?
There are some occasions where you feel unjustified to give out a tip, but let me tell you why you should.

The food was terrible. If the food was terrible, then complain to the manager (you might get a discount on the bill) but don’t take away the tip from the waiting staff because you’re punishing them for someone else’s mistake. Chances are they worked very hard for you and to not reward them would be unfavourable.
The service was below par. If the service was below par then you should tip at a lower rate than normal. Usually, I’d speak to the waiter I’m tipping and politely explain the reasons for the lower tip. Just make sure you’ve eaten all your food before you tell them!
You are a stingy and grumpy old man. So you don’t want to tip. Why not? You’re rewarding someone for doing good work. How would you feel if your boss decided to not give you the pay raise you’ve been asking for or taking your bonus away from you just because he felt like it? As the old saying goes, “Treat other people the way you expect to be treated yourself.”

Interesting couch/bunk beds for limited space applications.. Nice design as well.. Check it out here…

Interesting Super Land Lord Tips

Lee’s Notes: I work with a lot of investors who are either flipping properties or renting properties.. Below is a list of super land lord tips I found.. Good stuff!

Super Landlord Tip 1: Include in your lease the following wording: “Resident agrees to pay Landlord a service charge of $25 if it is necessary to deliver a legal notice for any violation of the rental agreement to this address.”

Super Landlord Tip 2: Put together a list names and phone numbers of five or ten churches or agencies in your area who are willing to help residents unable to pay rent. Whenever you have a resident with a good track record of paying rent on time, but one month has a “legitimate” problem that is making it difficult to pay, give the tenant the list. They may be able to help out.

Super Landlord Tip 3: Whenever you sign on new residents, tell them you look forward to working with them for the next three years as one of your “preferred” customers. Let them know they will receive special service as a preferred customer, such as having their carpets cleaned every year. This will triple the lifespan of your average resident and keep good tenants longer.

Super Landlord Tip 4: Ask residents if they would like a ceiling fan, mini-blinds or a color television added to their rental for a small monthly fee. One out of four (or more) will probably say “yes.” You should recover your expense for the item within 3 to 6 months. From that point forward, the extra payment is extra profit. Plus, your tenant is happy.

Super Landlord Tip 5: Document everything!!  Make sure that every tenant or prospective tenant has a file with a log for notes.  Document everything you talked about during all of your conversations.  This can help you during ’spur of the moment negotiations’.  Along with that, it can help you get to know them better by remembering specific facts about each.  The more you can remember and talk with them on a friendship level, the better your tenants will be.

Stats on short sales in Indianapolis MIBOR..

Heard an interesting statistic today.. Another agent who is a numbers guy like me called me and told me that he had done some research and found a scary statistic.

8000 homes were listed last year in our BLC/MLS(Multiple listing service) as Short Sales/Pre-foreclosure. Do you know how many actually sold? 300…..

This Realtor completes between 70-90 transactions per year, and generally has 20-25 houses listed at any given time. He told me that after hearing the number above, it makes a lot of sense. Of the listings he had last year that expired, 80% of them were short sales.

I have an article somewhere on here where I talk about homes that go to auction. The stats are generally that 800 may show up at an auction, but only about 7-14 actually sell at auction. The rest either are withdrawn by the bank, or the bank buys back..

In the real estate industry, a lot of people are preaching that a great future niche is going to be in selling short sales, REO(real estate owned), etc.. I think you will need to know the language of Short Sales, REO, etc, but the numbers currently out there are not looking good for that being a growing niche market.

Your thoughts? 

 As always, if you like what I write, and know someone who is looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate, give me  a call or shoot me an email with their name, phone, address, and or email. Even if they are in another city/state than Central Indiana, i can prolly find someone to recommend them to, and if I am really lucky, i will get a referral fee and get to feed my son!

Home Inspections, the second negotiation phase?!?

Been pretty busy since I got back from atlanta last week. Have a property that is supposed to close this coming friday, but we are having some problems with the inspection. It’s a 40+ year old house, and the buyer thinks it should be brand new.  I dont fault the buyer for being a first time buyer, and scared of everything. I fault the inspector who feels it’s his personal goal to destroy a deal for very minor things.

I have been flipping homes for 15+ years, and I learned early to get an inspection.  I also learned that there is no such thing as a perfect house.  You pay an inspector to find major things wrong with a house, but that doesn’t mean everything needs to be fixed.

Plus lets look at financing, you can’t give credits for repairs if you are doing 100% financing. When people had to put down 5-10%, you could give credits to someone and they could use the credit towards an upgrade at a later date. With 100% financing, you have to get whatever fixed, and no real room for upgrades at a later date. Everything that needs to be repaired has to be put into escrow until closing and or the contractors can get to the work.  No money to buyers is allowed on 100% financing. And before you ask, Yes 100% financing deals are still going on…

Im a bit frustrated right now. I have a seller who has been bending over backwards to close on this deal. He is losing money on the transaction, and is trying to keep costs down so is completing a lot of the work himself, and the inspector can’t make up his mind on what he finds acceptable.  One second he is worried about moisture buildup in the crawl space, and then the next second he wants hot water heater relief lines draining out into the crawl space.

We’ll get there.. That’s why I get paid the small bucks.. I keep an even temperment and try to hold deals together.

Been a bit negligent in posting lately!

I have been in Atlanta, GA for the past week. Went for a Keller Williams Real Estate Convention. Was a great time, made a lot of friends and contacts. DEFINITELY if you like what I write, and have a friend or family member looking to buy, sell, or invest, send me an email with their name, phone, address, and email(or any of the above). I will do my best to find someone to refer them to, and maybe I will get a referral fee so I can feed my rugrat!!! hehe

What did I learn? A great many things.  I had dinner with one of the top agents in the city, and I showed him my marketing strategy for homes that I list. He told me “WOW, do you need to do that much marketing for a house? It’s like killing a mouse with a canon!” We all had a good laugh, and I informed him I would start to use that in my marketing! hehe

I went to quite a few investing seminars. I have a lot to offer investors, and plan to market to them a bit over the next year. Most of the other Realtors I met who deal with investors were in awe of my reports I create for investors showing the top 10-15 homes in an area that would make great rental properties along with basic ROI numbers. Takes me about an hour to complete the list per a clients requirements, and then 15-30 minutes from their out to rerun the report. Great value added incentive for investors.

I’ll update some more Ah-Ha’s from my trip as the week progresses. Send me an email if you have a topic you would like me to cover. I get about 50-100 hits per day, so you folks are interested.

Why NOW is the time to buy a home in Indianapolis!

Lee’s Notes: Indy star had an article today about why it’s a good time to buy a home in Indianapolis.  I’ll highlight the good stuff in red…

Is it a good time to get in? How does the national housing market affect us locally?

What does the current uncertainty about property taxes mean, now and down
the road?

Consumers contemplating a new home purchase can look forward to 2008 with great hope: This is an excellent time to take advantage of market conditions that are ripe for buyers. Home inventories are up, giving buyers a lot of options, and mortgage rates are low, with traditional mortgage money readily available for most consumers.

Worrying about how the national housing market affects the local market is a natural reaction for buyers trying to sort out the sometimes-gloomy national forecast. But as Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors has often said, “A national picture of the real estate market is just about as valuable as giving a national high temperature for the day.”

While the overall picture is important, buyers and sellers in central Indiana are better positioned than many of their counterparts across the country. Central Indiana was spared the major price corrections and severe oversaturation of housing supply that plagued the rest of the nation in 2007. And while predicting the overall level of activity in 2008 is difficult, buyers — particularly those entering the housing market for the first time — can feel confident about a home purchase for several reasons.

Central Indiana’s status as an affordable market is a plus for any first-time buyer. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index named Indianapolis the most affordable major market for the ninth consecutive time. Some national media reports have touted the anticipated strength of central Indiana’s market in the coming years, and national market watchers also have their eyes
on central Indiana.

A Nov. 7 Fortune Magazine article listed Indianapolis as one of only seven cities expected to see home values increase in the next five years. The magazine studied the correlation between property values and rent rates, typically a reliable guide to the value of homes to determine whether an increase was likely. Indianapolis was one of more than 50 cities studied.

CNN Money.com noted that Indianapolis’ local economy is poised to grow faster than the national average over the next two years, with house prices projected to post a respectable gain. It pointed to Indianapolis’ low unemployment rate and stable employment sectors such as professional and business services, health care, education and government.

“Indianapolis is riding a few trends that are bringing about an early recovery in its real estate market,” it said.

Many factors — such as good schools, access to transportation, parks and recreation, and public safety — contribute to overall quality of life and, ultimately, the success of the housing market. But affordability is the cornerstone of central Indiana’s housing market — for 2008 and beyond.

February Home Maintenance Check List

Lee’s Notes: In an effort to keep updating this list, I added in some weekly tasks… SORRY CHARLIE!!! hehe  If you have anything I should add, please leave a comment or send me an email!

February:
1)Examine thermostat. Check accuracy and replace if necessary. If mechanical: Clean heat sensor, contact points, and contacts
2)Clean clothes dryer vent duct(#2 cause of house fires)
3)Check fire extinguishers. Refill or replace as needed.
4)Know the location of all gas/water shut-off valves.
5)Clean coils in rear of refrigerator unit
6)Replace/clean furnace filters.
7)Test smoke detectors.
8)Upholstery Vacuum.
9)Moldings Dust.
10)Stove burner grates Scrub clean.
11)Doorknobs Wipe down and disinfect.
12)Kitchen cabinets Wipe down fronts.
13)Ceiling fans Wipe off and dust.
14)Microwave Clean and deodorize.
15)Wastebaskets Wipe out and disinfect.

Weekly:
1)Furniture Dust all hard surfaces.
2)Floors Vacuum or mop.
3)Kitchen sink Scrub and disinfect.
4)Appliances Wipe down surfaces.
5)Shower Clean and scrub down.
6)Counters Wipe down and disinfect.
7)Bathtub Clean and scrub down.
8)Toilet Scrub and disinfect.
9)Sheets Change and launder.