By Melissa Dittmann Tracey
QUICK SKIM
Bargain shoppers are on the hunt for foreclosures, so get ready to help them find a hidden gem. But first, you might benefit from some pointers. After all, buying foreclosures can get tricky — whether you’re making the purchase at auction, through a bank, or from an emotional and financially-strapped home owner. In the new book Finding Foreclosures (Entrepreneur Press, 2007), real estate investor Danielle Babb and mortgage broker Bill Nazur take you through the complexities of buying foreclosed properties, from finding the best deals to avoiding common pitfalls.
FROM THE BOOK: 5 WAYS TO GET GOOD FORECLOSURE DEALS
Foreclosure rates are spiking and brewing up a hot market for investors and buyers. To get the best deal possible, follow these tips from the authors:
1. Timing is everything. Borrowers often are given a chance to avoid foreclosure with a grace period, typically two to three months, to pay off the amount they owe. The borrower may opt to sell the property during this pre-foreclosure stage if they can’t make up their missed mortgage payments. This is typically the best time to strike a deal, as home owners are looking for ways to avoid foreclosure. Another prime time to buy: prior to an auction date.
2. Look in the right places. Follow the foreclosure trail. Title companies, banks, purchase money escrow offices, and credit unions can be good sources to find out about new foreclosures. Online services, such as RealtyTrac provide national information on foreclosures, broken down into such categories as bank-owned, auction, and pre-foreclosure. The Hudson & Marshall Web site has auction schedules and even lets you make bids online.
 Think and Grow Rich (Arc Manor, 2007)
 By Napoleon Hill
 — Courtland McPherson, Prudential Gammons Realty, Exeter, R.I.
 The Real Estate Agent’s Business Planning Guide (Dearborn Real Estate   Education, 1994)
 By Carla Cross
 — Helen Coen, ABR, Century 21, Carole White Associates, West     Roxbury, Mass.
  Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die (Random House,  2007)
 By Chip Heath and Dan Heath
 — Suzanne Karr, e-PRO®, Crye-Leike REALTORS®, Mount Juliet,   Tenn.
Tell us what you’re reading. Send an e-mail to bookblog@realtors.org that includes the title of the real estate book you’re reading and the author, along with your name, contact information, and your photo.
Here are the latest top selling books on real estate, according to Amazon.com:
1. Be a Real Estate Millionaire: Secret Strategies for Lifetime Wealth Today, By Dean Graziosi
2. The Pre-Foreclosure Property Investor’s Kit: How to Make Money Buying Distressed Real Estate Before the Public Auction, By Thomas Lucier
3. Rich Dad’s Advisors: The ABC’s of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss, By Ken McElroy
4. The Foreclosures.com Guide to Making Huge Profits Investing in Pre-Foreclosures Without Selling Your Soul, By Alexis McGee
5. Flipping Confidential: The Secrets of Renovating Property for Profit in Any Market, By Kirsten Kemp
6. Real Estate Investing for Dummies, By Eric Tyson and Robert S. Griswold
7. Flipping Houses for Dummies, By Ralph R. Roberts and Joe Kraynak
8. Complete Guide to Real Estate Tax Liens and Foreclosure Deeds: Learn 7 Days (Investing Without Losing series), By Don Sausa
9. Rich Dad’s Real Estate Advantages: Tax and Legal Secrets of Successful Real Estate Investors, By Sharon L. Lechter and Garrett Sutton
10. Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads: The Fastest and Safest Way to Real Estate Wealth, By Larry B. Loftis
  The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American
  Summer Home (Scribner, 2004)
  By George Howe Colt
  — Tammy Tanner, RE/MAX, Duluth, Ga.
  The Referral of a Lifetime: The Networking System that Produces Bottom-
  Line Results Every Day (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2005)
  By Tim Templeton and Lynda Rutledge Stephenson
  — Doug Nunnally, ABR, CRS, FavoriteAgent.com, Fayetteville, N.C.
  Mainfest Your Destiny: The Nine Spiritual Principles for Getting
  Everything You Want (HarperTouch, 1999)
  By Wayne W. Dyer
  — Joan Wilson, Prudential California Realty, San Diego, Calif.
  The Millionaire Real Estate Agent: It’s Not About the
  Money … It’s About Being the Best You Can Be! (McGraw-Hill, 2004)
  By Gary Keller, Dave Jenks, and Jay Papasan
  — Barbara A. Berue, Keller Williams Main Line Realty, Bryn Mawr,
  Pa.
Tell us what you’re reading. Send an e-mail to bookblog@realtors.org that includes the title of the real estate book you’re reading and the author, along with your name, contact information, and your photo.
Feng Shui consultant Christine Ayres, co-author of Sell Your Home With Feng Shui: A Complete Guide to Staging Homes for Quick Sale in Any Market (AuthorHouse, 2007), responds to your questions.
Q: How can feng shui help you to sell a home faster than using other design principles?
A: The intention of staging with feng shui makes all the difference. The focus is on the buyer. We make the home more welcoming to the buyer walking in and through the space, rather than creating an environment that is necessarily comfortable for the seller. The emphasis is on form — not function — and we do not create any overwhelming décor. Another point of difference is that in using feng shui we also enhance important life areas that give the sale a boost such as wealth, career, and the fame/reputation guas of the house. We look at the house as an energetic container for a sale and stage accordingly.
Q: The National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents recently released a survey that found the majority of real estate practitioners say staging can distract buyers from seeing the defects and important aspects of a home. Do you think staging a home could be harmful to buyers?
A: I believe that proper staging emphasizes the selling points of the home. And it is important to remember that we are not selling furniture here, we are selling space. I think the “distraction” you mention can come when the house has been over-staged — that is too many pieces of décor and too many pieces of furniture. Then, we totally miss the dimensions, layout, and quality of the space as we are too busy looking at the décor.
Q: In following the bagua map, how can you best activate the buyer/wealth part of homes?
A: For the buyer gua, hang a wind chime up under the eaves on the front right corner of the house or place a flag on this corner of the home (especially good for cul-de-sac homes). If this front right corner happens to be the garage, a chime up inside the garage will also stir the energy to call in the buyer. For the wealth gua, think abundance. Expensive art, china, crystal,
Recent Comments