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Beginners Real Estate Investing Guide
Real Estate Investing - Ask
Questions Before Making an Investment
First Time Real Estate
Investor
Real Estate Investing - Planning
Your Investment Strategy
How to Find Real Estate
Investment Properties
Getting a Professional Home
Inspection
Large Profits From Inexpensive
Real Estate Repairs
Real Estate Investing - Costs
and Fees
Real Estate Insurance
and Risk Management
Real Estate Investment Risk
Part 1
Real Estate Investment Risk
Part 2
Getting The Best Return For
Your Investment
Creative Financing
For Real Estate Investors
Real Estate Investment Tax
Considerations
Real Estate Rental Properties
- Great Investment or Nightmare
Real Estate Foreclosures - Great
Deal or Headache
Flipping Real Estate for Profits
Slow Return On Real Estate
Investments
Negotiating for the Best Possible Real Estate
Deals
Real Estate - A Time to Buy and a Time
to Sell
Creating Your Real Estate
Investment Strategy
Investing and Growing
Your Real Estate Portfolio
Commercial Real Estate
Investing
Real Estate Marketing
Understanding Real Estate Law
Do You Need An Real Estate Agent?
What The Real Estate Mortgage
Lender Sees
Do You Have A Career In Real
Estate?
Rural or Urban Real Estate
Investments?
Real Estate Investing on the
Internet
Real Estate Investing
- Property or Paper? |
Real Estate Investing - Introduction
Real Estate Investing - Understanding Real Estate Law
Real estate investing involves large amount of money, and anything that involves
large amounts of money typically also involves large amounts of complicated
law. This is true in real estate. The rules of real estate are very complex,
and can be a source of major headaches if you are buying or selling real
estate.
Real estate law goes back at least as far as 3000 BC. It has been growing
more complicated, and more involved since that time. There are laws concerning
the financing, purchase, sale, use, taxes, insurance, and more when it comes
to property. Some laws are very clear and straight forward, while others
require highly qualified professionals to decipher.
While you don't have to have a Doctorate in real estate law to invest in
real estate, you do need to have a healthy knowledge of the real estate laws
that affect you, your situation, and the area in which you are investing
in real estate in order ot be successful.
Real estate law usually begins with the contract. In any real estate deal,
there will be a contract that is designed to protect all parties. Each party
agrees to an exchange of property for property, or property for money, in
writing, in the contract. The days of verbal agreements and handshakes are
long gone!
The real estate contract legally identifies the interested parties, and the
property as well. It outlines the agreement that has been made between the
parties, and includes everything - nothing is left unsaid when it comes to
the real estate contract! The contract is signed by all parties, dated, and
usually notarized.
In order for the contract to be legal, the property must actually be worth
what the seller and the lender have claimed that it is worth. This is determined,
legally, with the use of appraisals, as well as other legally acceptable
valuation methods.
For example, flipping property is perfectly legal. To flip a property, you
purchase property, make changes or repairs to increase the value, and then
quickly resell it for a profit. However, it becomes illegal if the investor
buys a cheap property, and then works with a mortgage broker to change documents
to reflect that the property is worth more than it actually is, when no repairs,
or few repairs have been made. Since government bodies often have some stake
in mortgage loans, don't think for one minute that you would get away with
something like that. It's fraud!
There is a big difference in buying a home, or a property that can be sold
as a home, and buying or investing in commercial property. There are different
regulations and laws that concer their exchange and use. If you are purchasing
rental property, for the purpose of earning a rental income from the property,
you will be required to do much more than collect the rent check! Those
requirements vary from state to state, and from country to country. Furthermore,
as with anything else, the excuse of 'I didn't know' doesn't fly when it
comes to legal matters - it was your responsibility to know!
Have you ever been angered by a lender that turned you down? Believe it or
not, in most cases, they didn't want to turn you down, but the laws and rules
that affect them forced them to. You must understand that they also answer
to other investors. Lenders may seem unreasonable in their requests or demands
for certain documentation, but in most cases, they request or require the
documents, such as titles, insurance, inspections, and more, because the
law requires them, or their investors require them.
It gets even more complicated when you start looking at real estate tax laws.
Again, it is very complex. You may not see many cars or recreational vehicles
with tax liens against them, but having a tax lien against a piece of real
estate is quite common, and that tax lien must be cleared before the title
can be transfered. What about the taxes that you may owe in conjuction with
buying, selling, or simply owning a property?
This varies from one state and country to another, as well as from one situation
to the next. It is important to consult with a real estate tax professional
in this area, simply because it really is too complicated for the average
person to comprehend.
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Beginners Real Estate Investing Articles
How to Advertise a Rental
Property
How to Build Equity
in any Real Estate Market
How to Find Motivated
Sellers
Developing a Profitable Real
Estate Investing Strategy
Bird Dogging: Getting Started in
Real Estate Investing
Buying Your First Home
Using Lease Options to Purchase Real
Estate
Real Estate Foreclosures
Increase Your Net Worth Through
Real Estate Investing
Interest Only Mortgages
Real Estate Investing
No Money Down Real Estate
Investing
The Power of the Lease Option
Real Estate Investing Tips
Real Estate Investments
Refinancing Your Mortgage
Loan
Paying Your Mortgage
Selling Your House without a
Realtor
"Subject To" Real Estate
Financing
Using Trusts as a Real Estate
Alternative
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