Finding Property Hot Spots

Posted by Canadian Dream on August 12, 2010

The following is a guest post, by William Eve.  I some what disagree with the term ‘Hot Spots’, but his advice is actually practical on factors to consider when looking for real estates as an investment.

Looking for property hot spots can be a daunting task. As an investor you need to find a property that is priced low but has the potential to increase in value so that you can hopefully sell it an make a profit. Investing in property can be an excellent source of income and a great way to build wealth, but only if you know how to do it. The truth is that many people call themselves investors or think they have the ability to be investors once they have purchased their first home. This is especially true when the value of that first home increase leading many people to believe that property investment has a lot to do with luck.

However, luck has very little to do with choosing property hot spots. Choosing good investment properties takes a lot of research and an understanding of what drives property values. You simply cannot sit behind a computer, or with a real estate agent and choose an investment property. You have to get in the trenches and examine each property based on several factors including population, the location, the infrastructure, and its current value. Moreover, you actually have to go out to each property and look at it with a discerning eye, so that you make sure you get a great property in a great location.

Population

In terms of the population of your property locale there are two different ways to look at it. It may seem callous, but an aging population could mean better investment deals. When people pass away, their families are often willing to unload property at a cheaper rate just to get rid of the burden of taxes and upkeep. Often, neighborhoods that are populated by the elderly become family neighborhoods for just this reason. If you, as an investor can get in on this you can stand to make some money.

Location

Whenever people talk about real estate location is always a top concern. While the perfect location is different for everyone there are some key factors that almost always make for a good location.  Some of those factors are areas that are close to conveniences and shopping, but are not right on top of them. Most of us want a home that is near a grocery store or a library, but we do not want the parking lot in our back yard. Also, areas close to natural beauty like the beach or parks are good locations because there is limited space. Not only do homeowners get the benefit of living somewhere beautiful, they do not have to worry about overcrowding.

Infrastructure

Understanding infrastructure can be a bit tricky when looking at property. You want a property that is easily accessible, however most of us do not want to live on a major thoroughfare because of noise and pollution. You should look into the scheduled public works in any area you are thinking of investing. Is there a new highway being built that could mean more jobs in the area, more businesses, maybe even new schools? Or, is there a new highway that could actually divert people from coming through a certain area causing it to lose business and eventually value? The answers to these questions will help you decide whether or no to buy a property and how much it is truly worth.

Current Value

While any investor knows that they need to consider the potential value of each place they look at, they must also consider its current value. Even if you think a house will be worth twice what the sellers are asking in a few years you must resist overspending on it in the short term. Get the best price that you can on a home based on what it is worth in its current state. That way you can probably sell it even if you are unable to do extra work on it or if the highway you are hoping brings in extra population winds up getting scratched.

Problems to Avoid

The first key to getting great property hot spots is research. As an investor you will have to come up with a way to evaluate each property in terms of the potential for increase in value as well as what drawbacks there are to buying it. It is simply not enough to buy a property based on a real estate tip or because that area is allegedly hot. Instead, the smart investor has to have an investment strategy that they develop based on long and short term goals and their finances.

Another important aspect of finding just the right investment property is to take the emotion out of it. Buying an investment property is not the same process as buying your family home. You cannot buy something based on any kind of instinct or feelings about the area or property. In the same sense it is not a good choice to buy a property because you simply love visiting a certain area. Instead, find property hot spots through careful research about the earning potential of buying and then selling that property.

DIY approach

One of the last steps in procuring a hot spot for your investment property is to do the work yourself. Your real estate agent is in the business of selling houses, even if they know that they are not the wisest investment. That is the simple fact that any smart investor must understand. If you know that then doing your own research makes sense. You have to actually go out to each property and look around. Evaluate the neighbourhood and the surrounding areas. You have to look into the business and infrastructure trends and figure out what they mean in relation to property values. If you do that then it will not matter what the real estate agent says because you already know the real value of a property.

If you want to find property hot spots you have to figure out what exactly that means to you. You have to be absolutely determined to research each and every property based on a set of unflappable standards. It will be a lot of work but in the end it can pay off in a very big way. Buying and selling the right property at the right time can be  a great investment so do your homework and you will reap the benefits.

This article was written by William Eve. William writes about saving money, investment loans and real estate for Home Loan Finder. If your a first home buyer or looking to refinance, visit the Home Loan Finder website for great advice and to compare the best home loans today.

Blogging is Publishing

Posted by Canadian Dream on August 11, 2010

I was reading this post the other day about how blogs really don’t treat themselves as publishers, despite that is exactly what they are.  We produce content ourselves or use guest bloggers to generate content and then publish it.  A number of bloggers that would like to go “pro” and be able to live off their blog income but a lot of us don’t treat our blogs as a micro-business, despite the fact that is exactly what they are.

As such we tend to not think with in terms of all the hats we have to wear when you run a blog including:

• Editor: Guess what folks, editors at major newspapers don’t spend their time fixing a lot of other peoples crappy writing.  They fix the obvious, cut the any word that isn’t required and send it back for a re-write if certain parts don’t make sense or it wasn’t what you were looking for.  The writer is SUPPOSE to fix it and then send it back.  Unfortunately, I suspect many bloggers are way too nice about rejecting crappy guest posts and end up doing too much re-writing themselves.  That isn’t your job as an editor so stop doing it and hit the reply button instead.
• Marketer: You can have the greatest blog in the world and no traffic.  You have to get out there and strike up some interest in your blog.  Submit to carnivals, comment on other blogs, do guest posts for other blogs and be helpful to others in forums.  All of those can help to drive traffic to your blog without paying a cent in ads.
• Sales: Want some income on your blog?  Then don’t just stop with Adsense you need to consider affiliate programs, paid link ads and perhaps launching your own product like an ebook/book, software or something else that people will buy.  Income from a blog to be useful has to come from many sources.
• IT: I recently had my hosting company’s tech support try to tell me that they weren’t hosting my blog and that some other company was doing it.  Needless to say I freaked out and then dug into it.  Guess what? They were wrong and I had to figure that out what the hell was up.  Like it or not you need to know a few basic items on how websites work and then have a phone number or two of friends you can call in when you get in over your head.  You are the Help Desk like it or not.
• Accountant: Do you need a GST/PST/HST vendor account?  Can you write off your hosting costs if you don’t keep a separate account for your blog income?  When did you get your last Adsense cheque?  If you don’t know the answers to those questions, then you need to find out.
• Writer: Then last, but not least, all bloggers are writers.  We often start off doing just that role and forget we need to expand out into the other ones.  Great blogs at their heart have good writers, but what makes a blog really great is how well you wear those other hats.

Now if you aren’t good at a particular role it’s ok to get help.  Pick other people’s brains or even hire out sections of work.  I know my weak points are IT and marketer.  I’ve have to beg for help once and while from others with IT and I know I don’t do enough marketing work.  I’m just starting to get better at the editor role with Robert and Dave doing regular guest posts.

So if you blog, what hats do you need to get better at wearing? If you don’t blog, which of these hats do you wear in your job? Any tips for the novices out there?

A Job vs. A Career

Posted by Dave on August 10, 2010

I was watching Chris Rock’s “Kill the Messenger” and he had a bit about jobs versus careers.  His general feeling was that people with careers “need to learn how to shut the f— up when you’re around people with jobs”.  I think that this is generally a correct statement. I have friends that absolutely love their work and it’s all they talk about, but I am not one of those people (although, I generally don’t talk very much so maybe I would if I was more outgoing?).  Chris Rock goes on to tell his tale of working a “job” at Red Lobster scraping shrimp off of plates, and how he is now blessed with a career and wishes everyone could be blessed with a career that they enjoy.

I’m not sure whether I would classify my current work as a job or a career. I’ve been working for the same company and in the same position since I got out of university six years ago.  I think that the work I do makes a difference, which adds to the enjoyment I get out of going to the office.  Yet the bottom line is I noticed when I was on vacation that if my job/career was taken away from me tomorrow, I don’t really think I’d miss it that much.  I would find something else to do that I found interesting and hopefully provide enough money to live on.

When people ask me if I like what I do, my general reply is: “On a Monday morning, other than waking up to an alarm, work is not something I dread going to.”  I guess that is not exactly a positive statement, but it’s true.  Yet I’m not sure if my mindset really allows me to look at any work as a “career”.  My paycheque allows me to do things I want to do when I’m not at work.  I don’t dislike going to the office, but I’m not the kind of person that would put in extra hours for free because I love my position so much.

Someday, when I have the savings to allow it, I will leave the workforce.  I have read stories about how people run out of things to do in retirement, but I don’t think I’ll be one of those people.  I think that my future career as a capitalist/retiree will bring me much greater enjoyment than working for eight hours a day (no matter how rewarding the my current work is). After I retire, I might just be one of those people that need to shut up when I’m around people with jobs and will never have enough time in the day to get done what needs to be done but  I am looking forward to my future career.

So do you work at a “job”, or do you have a “career”?  If you have a career, how did you come to find it?  Did you stumble into it, or aspire towards it?