DEAN GRAZIOSI: DEAN GRAZIOSI REVIEW – REAL ESTATE FEED BY DEAN GRAZIOSI

Being in business for yourself can be risky.  Even when you are successful, it is important to keep your personal assets protected so that if problems pop up your family’s safety is secure.  The way all businesses do that, including real estate investors, is by forming an LLC for all of your related transactions.  Once you are an LLC you will no longer do business in your name, but rather as your company; even if it is named after yourself, it will be an entity protected by the legal structure.
What is an LLC?
LLC is an acronym for Limited Liability Company.  An LLC assigns all debts acquired by your company to be covered by any assets you hold as a company but NOT as a personal asset.  That means if a creditor comes after you, a deal goes bad and you owe money on it, or someone is hurt on one of your properties that you haven’t obtained insurance on yet, you may lose assets your company owns.  However, those assets won’t include what you own personally, like your car, your personal home, or money in your personal bank accounts.
Setting it up
Setting up an LLC is the first move you should ever make when considering any form of business, including investment businesses.  It is simple to start the paperwork for an LLC and they can often be established online without ever leaving home.  All you have to do is pick a name for your company, fill out the paperwork, develop an LLC agreement that most LLC websites will assist you in doing, publish a notice in your local paper of intent to become a LLC, and you have it.  Once you have that vital piece of business taken care of you can begin your career with a feeling of security, knowing that your family is protected from any problems you may encounter in your ventures.

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Fixed-rate mortgages are a safe, stable loan in which the interest rate never changes throughout the life of the loan. However, variable-rate loans continue to be the most popular loan type in the United States because of their very low introductory interest rates. Issues arise when the introductory period ends and the interest rates of variable-rate mortgages can skyrocket. The foreclosure crisis that caused the housing market crash in the US has been mainly attributed to these variable-rate mortgages.

In most cases, if you’re purchasing a primary home or a rental property a fixed-rate mortgage is the best loan to go with. Payments may be a little higher than variable-rate counterparts, but you are assured that those payments will remain the same for the next 20-30 years until the loan is paid off. For the most part, fixed-rate mortgages are the best option for long-term borrowing. Especially in times when the economy is down and the market is poor, fixed-rate mortgages should be seen as the best option as variable-rate interest can cause severe financial hardship.

If you’re looking to refinance a property, fixed-rate mortgages are generally preferable and easy to get in instances where a nice down payment is included. Many homeowners switch from variable-rate to fixed-rate mortgage loans before or shortly after the introductory period of their first loan is complete. If you’re planning to purchase a property and want to finance with a variable-rate loan first, make sure you know the policy for early payoff. Count in the cost for re-appraising the property and any other closing costs for the refinance to see if having a variable-rate mortgage to start will even save you any money. In many cases, these costs end up making it more expensive than if the buyer had just gone with a fixed-rate loan from the beginning.

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They say that 50% of potential buyers make up their minds about a house within the first sixty seconds. A seller can improve the odds for a sale by improving curb appeal and developing selling points such as efficiency. Replacing the windows is a relatively easy way to do this and it is a method often overlooked by sellers.

New windows are more energy-efficient, look nicer, and for a potential buyer they mean one less thing that might have to be dealt with after the purchase. Efficiency is a huge selling point because it lets buyers know they will be spending less on heating and cooling bills. Try to think about convenience for the new owner — what will be the easiest to clean and maintain – as well as the out-of-pocket cost for you.

If the windows are already fairly new, or you are unable to change them out completely but you wish to make them look better, you can replace the old hardware to add character and a fresher, cleaner look. Also, even if you can’t replace the windows, make sure that they can all be opened.  Consult an interior designer for a quick, general idea about changes if you are unsure of what will sell.

By replacing the windows in your investment property you can also modernize your house, thus making it more appealing to potential buyers. Historical properties can be given a more modern energy efficiency. For others, you can change the style, color, and about every other option imaginable to help give your property a look that will help make that sale.

Don’t forget that replacing the windows in your home, as well as other energy-efficient measures, increases the value of the home altogether. It usually brings an 80% return on your investment, but may mean the difference between selling or not. When you are looking to sell your home and increase its curb appeal and bottom line value, look to newer, energy-efficient windows that look great.

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