Dean Rizzi

Is Rental Real Estate the Next Big Opportunity?
April 27, 2011 · · 2 Comments

It could very well be. Residential rental vacancy rates are below the 10-percent mark, where they had been lodged for most of the past three years. Peggy Alford, president of Rent.com, predicts that by 2012 the vacancy rate will hover at a mere 5 percent.
Since 2002, rental rates have been flat, and down of late (inflation-adjusted). If Rent.com projections are anywhere close to expectations, we could see a rise in rents of 15 percent over the next two years. That would be a significant reversal of fortune: rent hikes have averaged less than 1 percent annually over the past decade, according to Commerce Department statistics.
Pent up demand appears real: More than 1.2 million young adults moved back with their parents from 2005 to 2010, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Many others doubled up together. Now that the recession is over, many of these young people are ready to find new living quarters, mostly as renters. Where there are renters, there must be property owners (even if they are not occupants). As rental rates increase, the capitalized market value of property increases too – that means rising real estate prices.
We’ve frequently noted that opportunities always abound, regardless of the perceived direness of current circumstances. The outlook in the rentals is another reason we think they abound in the residential real estate market.

Dean Rizzi
www.drlending.com

Dean Rizzi

Buying After a Short Sale
March 6, 2011 · · 3 Comments

Buying after a short sale, including a pre-foreclosure event, requires the following:

 Short sale due to financial mismanagement:

 1. Minimum of 4 years, and up to 7 years, must have elapsed since the completion of the short sale.

2. The borrower may purchase a primary residence, second home or investment property with the greater of 10% minimum down payment or the minimum down payment required for the transaction.

3. Borrower must have re-established an acceptable credit history.

4. Minimum 680 credit score required.

Short sale due to documented extenuating circumstances:

1. A minimum of 2 years must have elapsed since the completion of the short sale.

2. The borrower may purchase a primary residence, second home or investment

3. property with the greater of 10% minimum down payment or the minimum down payment required for the transaction.

www.deanrizzi.com

Dean Rizzi

Is Housing Still the Leader?
March 1, 2010 · · 1 Comment

That appears to be the case, at least according to data released from the Census Bureau. Going back to 1968, the trend in housing starts has portended the trend in the overall economy. Should we be optimistic or pessimistic? That’s difficult to say. Monthly figures on starts are volatile, and housing starts fluctuate more than many indicators. It takes several months for total housing starts to establish a trend. The good news is that going back to October, the trend in starts has been mostly stable and up. The bad news is that January’s free-fall in new-home sales could pressure the trend to change direction. Or maybe not. The problem in vetting the data is that no two periods are exactly alike and history never repeats itself perfectly. For example, Census Bureau data show that housing completions generally lag housing starts, as would be expected, except in the latter half of 2009, where starts have fallen off a cliff compared to completions, creating a wide, unprecedented divergence. So what does it all mean? Economists who believe that housing is the leading economic indicator aren’t very bullish on the economic outlook. We tend to be a little more bullish, because it can be misleading to read too much into historical correlations of two variables – in this case, housing and the economy. What’s more, the more correlations are vetted and become known, the more their predictive value tends to break down.

DeanRizzi
http://www.drlending.com/

Shokoofeh Nowbakht

Evaluation of Rental Property
June 2, 2009 · · 7 Comments

for-rentHow do you evaluate a rental property?
There are many formulas to calculate different income ratios, various expenses and taxes you incur as a landlord. The first thing you should pay close attention to is the existing leases. Find out the current rents, the remaining lease terms and the annual increase in rents for every unit. It is very important to determine how these rents compare to the rents for similar properties in the area?    Read more

Mark Hasha

Real Estate Roller Coaster
July 9, 2008 · · Comment here

Is the Bay Area real estate market on its way back up or is it still coasting down?

On June 25th the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® reported that home sales increased 18.1 percent in May in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 35.3 percent. So is that good news or bad for S.F. bay area real estate market? It depends.

 If you need to sell your home the bad news is that your home may have given back any appreciation it had made over the last three years. The good news is that if you have owned your home for more than three years you should realize a gain on your home sale; it just won’t be at the top of the market. If you are selling your home to buy another, then more good news, your next home will cost less than it would have a year ago.
 
Have you thought of buying investment property in the past but the numbers just didn’t make sense? Good news, with the decrease in the prices of homes and the strong rental market due to over extended home owners returning to the rental market you can once again find properties that can generate enough income to cover expenses and offer good returns on future appreciation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite all the confusing information in the media, the best news I got from the California Association of Realtors report was that home sales have increased. Real estate operates on the law of supply and demand and as the number of home sales increase, inventory will begin selling off and prices will once again return to stability and the long term appreciation will occur as it has always done in the past.