The Rule of 15:   Here is how the Rule of 15 works for real estate investors:

1. Determine the rental rates for the area you are interested in.   Rental rates can be found at Zillow, Trulia or a new fun website Rentometer.
2. Calculate how much you would pay in rent for one year.  (Example:  $1000/month x 12 = $12,000/yr)
3. Multiple the annual rent by 15.  (In our example, $12,000/year x 15 = $180,000.
4. Look up and compare the asking prices of comparable properties in the same area.
5. If the sales prices in the area are higher than the annual rent times 15, the location is still over priced for the market and prices will continue to fall.  In other words, keep renting and banking cash.
6. If the sales prices of homes in the area are lower than your annual rent times 15, the market has probably gone through most of the bust cycle and if may be safe to step in and buy.

Rentometer.com is a very handy tool for anyone looking for a new place to rent or investors searching for the best place to buy a piece of rental property.

The website is simple and easy to use.  Simply, type in a  zipcode, add the number of bedrooms you are interested in, and, with one click, Rentometer comes to life with a map display and property links for all the rental options and rates in your selected area.

This site is a great example of why map mashups are so popular.   It is one of the most useful rental sites on the web I’ve seen and it is a lot of fun to use. 

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com.  We are here to assist you in getting your property exposed to the largest number of qualified buyers.  Visit the site or call 1-800-381-9496 to see what’s available in your area.

The  program, which takes effect April 5, 2010,  pays lenders and borrowers to complete a short sale.   Key points of the program are as follows.

• 1.  The program compels lenders to accept a short sale offer and forgive the difference they are owed between the market value and the outstanding mortgage balance. 
• 2.  The lender will receive $1000 for every short sale they participate in.
• 3.  The program encourages millions of borrowers to get serious about getting rid of their homes.  It  pays homeowners $1500 in walking away cash for finding buyer for their property and closing the sale.
• 4.  The lender will utilize real estate agents to determine the present market value for a home.  That value will set the minimum acceptable price.   The estimated value will not be shared with the homeowner.  If an offer is submitted that is equal to or higher than the estimated value, the lender MUST take it.

Pro’s and Con’s

• 1.  For the investment pools which own most of the home loans, there is the hope of getting more money from a short sale than a foreclosure proceeding.
• 2.  For the lender, $1000 will help offset the labor intensive short sale process.
• 3.  For the borrower, their credit will suffer less damage.  They have the lenders assurance that they won’t be sued down the line for their unpaid balance.  And, they get $15oo to assist with their relocation.
• 4.  For the community, short sales mean fewer empty houses sitting around waiting for the bank sale.  It is estimated as many as half of all vacant properties are ransacked, neglected, vandalized and depress the value of neighboring homes.
• The downside is that short sales are “tailor made” for fraud.  House values are inherently subjective, which providing a wide latitude of potential conflicts.
• Another problem is that bankers hate the very idea of accepting an offer short of what they are owed.  By nature, they don’t want to sell anything at a discount.  If they loan $200,000 …they expect to be repaid $200,000, not $150,000.

Thank you for visiting Why6Percent.com   We have helped thousands of people sell their homes and save a ton of money in fee’s and commissions.  We can Help You, too!!