Real Estate Investors Take Action

One of my first real estate gurus counseled me that in order to be successful, I had to get face-to-face with sellers every day. Investment speaker Anthony Youngs preached that if you are not making offers, you are not in the game. National speaker Brian Buffini claims that the number one reason investors fail is for lack of leads. Leads can be people, property or partners.

The bottom line is: If you do not take action as a real estate investor, you will remain an investor wannabe. Real estate investors become successful by taking action. You will note that many national speakers seem to pay an inordinate amount of attention to attitude. That is, the attitude that propels you to take action towards your goals.

This is critically important, not just in real estate investing, but in all aspects of life. First and foremost, you must know what you want. And you must want it badly enough to pursue it through good times and through bad. That is why most trainers begin with goals, vision, motivation, and planning. Real estate investing is a numbers game, and there will be more no’s than yeses in the pursuit of success. Fear of rejection, failure or anything else should not prevent you from moving forward.

Your membership in your real estate investors association is a first step in your journey as a real estate investor. Your success as a real estate investor will blossom in direct proportion to the effort you put into getting the most out of this association. Networking, education, resources, training, contacts. They are all here for the taking.

The Real Estate Association of Puget Sound (REAPS) is the largest real estate investors network in Washington state. We at REAPS want to see you succeed, and we will help you find the tools to do that. This is one reason we are hosting a FREE orientation to REAPS, your real estate investors association, at the Lake City Library in Seattle on May 21. Details to follow in an upcoming newsletter.

But attending meetings with other real estate investors is only a first step in taking action. You will need to prepare yourself in many other ways. Read as much as you can about real estate and real estate investing. The REAPS newsletter and the REAPS library are great starting points.

It is not enough to sit in meetings and read books, but that is where we all begin.

Once you have defined your focus, figure out where you can find properties, people, partners and resources that help you target your area of focus. Talk to others who have done it, are doing it. Look for mentors, and opportunities to apprentice or learn. Put yourself in the path of progress.

Move beyond your comfort zone. Speak up. Ask questions. Talk to sellers, buyers, lenders. Ask for partners. Practice on family and friends. Find some deals. Or what you think are deals. Ask someone more experienced what they think. The Kitsap satellite of REAPS devotes a portion of most of their meetings to doing deal analysis on deals that their members bring to the meeting. Take advantage of these opportunities.

Don’t let ignorance hold you back. If you don’t know something, go find out – or find someone who does know! Your investor association is not responsible for your success or failure – YOU are!

And start making offers!

A future blog will focus on Minimizing Risk with Multiple Exit Strategies. So you will have no excuse for not taking action….

Wendy Ceccherelli is the volunteer membership coordinator for REAPS. She has been a full-time real estate investor for the past six years, and is the designated real estate broker for Home Land Investment Properties, Inc. Prior to her career in real estate, she spent twenty-five years as a government arts funder. More information on real estate topics may be found on her website at www.HomeLandSeattle.com

What is Title Insurance?

Today's guest blog was submitted by First American Title representative Julie Satko.

Title Insurance… What is it?

Title is a bundle of rights in real property. Protecting purchasers and lenders against loss is accomplished by the issuance of a title insurance policy. Usually, during a purchase transaction the lender requests a policy (commonly referred to as the Lender’s Policy)while the buyers receive their own policy (commonly referred to as an Owner’s Policy).

In short, the policy states that if the status of the title to a parcel or real property is other than as represented, and if the insured (either the owner or the lender) suffers a loss as a result of a title defect, the insurer will reimburse the insured for that loss and any related legal expenses, up to the face amount of the policy subject to exceptions and exclusions contained in the policy.

Who is covered?

Typically there are two (2) policies issued. The Lender’s Policy insures the lender for the amount of the loan. The Owner’s Policy insures the purchaser for the purchase
price.

Seattle Market Recovery?

CNN Money just named Seattle and Tacoma as being among the top three housing markets poised for recovery.

And just look at these stats on single family home sales in King County:
2010 - 16,728 transactions/ median sale price $ 380,000
2009 - 16,650 transactions/ median sale price $ 377,500

Looks to me like we may have turned a corner....

Hike. Swim. Sail. Climb. Welcome to Western Washington.

Motivated Buyers Returning to the Washington State Housing Market

The NWMLS just released their January statistics:

KIRKLAND, Wash. (Feb. 3, 2011) – Dramatic increases in open house activity and shrinking inventory are fueling optimism among members of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Many believe that the bottom of the local housing market has been reached.

Year-over-year pending sales were down somewhat, the volume of new listings declined more than 23 percent, sales prices continued to slip, but the number of closed sales increased slightly across the 21 counties in the Northwest MLS service area.
Last month’s pending sales lagged totals for the same month a year ago, but only by 186 units system-wide, a decline of about 3.3 percent.

Members reported 5,393 pending sales (mutually accepted offers) of single family homes and condominiums during January. That compares to 5,579 pending sales for the same period a year ago, and marked a big gain from both January 2009 (4,353 pending sales) and January 2008 (4,499 pending sales).

Closed sales rose a modest 2.1 percent from a year ago, increasing from 3,142 transactions to 3,207 sales. Prices on those completed sales were down about 6.3 percent. The overall median price for last month’s closed sales of single family homes and condominiums was $243,500, which compares to the year-ago selling price of $259,903. For single family homes (excluding condominiums) the median selling price was $250,000, down about 5 percent from a year ago; for condos, last month’s sales had a median price of $200,000, down 16.7 percent from twelve months ago.

Only four counties (Clallam, Cowlitz, Kitsap, and Okanogan) reported year-over-year price gains.

In King County, the median sales price on last month’s sales was $333,500, a drop of 4.7 percent from twelve months ago when it was $350,000.

Figures from the National Association of Realtors® show distressed homes rose to 36 percent of sales of existing homes in December, up from 33 percent in November and 32 percent a year ago. Such homes are typically discounted by 10 to 15 percent, according to NAR research.

Northwest Multiple Listing Service, owned by its member brokers, is the largest full-service MLS in the Northwest. Its membership includes more than 24,000 brokers and agents. The organization, based in Kirkland, currently serves 21 counties in Western and Central Washington.

For more information on this report, contact the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.