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When, someone, decides, he’s ready, and prepared, to invest in real estate, for investment purposes, he must do his homework, and know/ understand, his options, in terms of investing in these types of properties. While investment real estate, often, is a superb investment, this is only the case, when the property is the correct one, and a well – considered, evaluation is done, and one is properly prepared, to consider the best way, to fund these purchases. The process must begin with, doing a thorough, financial analysis, and feasibility study, to consider, revenue flow, costs/ expenditures, and, whether, the purchase, makes sense. Once, this is carefully done and performed, one must consider, how he will fund the transaction. With that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, 4 possible options, to fund commercial real estate purchases.

1. Conventional loans: Begin your analysis, and review, by considering conventional loans, and whether, this way, makes sense, for you, and your needs/ requirements! A conventional/ traditional loan, generally offered, by a bank, or other lending institution, requires significant collateral, and other assurances, to qualify. It also requires a down – payment, often, approximately, 25%. One’s overall, credit rating, must be, at a level, which will generate the finest offers, etc.

2. Get funds from contacts/ investors, etc: Sometimes, the best course, is to seek partners, or shareholders, in order to get the necessary funding. Doing so, often, reduces your personal risk, but, also limits the upper – end, possibility! In addition, it requires, putting together, a legally, drawn – up, agreement, etc. This is often, attractive, when one doesn’t have the personal funds, or can’t put together, the necessary, down – payment.

3. Combination: Sometimes, the best course of action, for someone, may be using some sort of combination, of the two methods, listed above. Perhaps, using a conventional approach, for much of the funding, and attracting investors, to, either minimize risk, or create the ability to have the necessary degree of reserves, associated with managing these types of properties, might makes sense, to some.

4. Partnership; limited partnership; corporation; Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT): If you don’t want to, or are unable to do this, on your own, a partnership, limited partnership, or corporation, might make the most sense. However, if you aren’t prepared for quality analysis of choosing the right property, or would rather, be more diversified, a Real Estate Investment Property (or, REIT), might make sense, because, if you select, the right, General Partner, and experienced, expert advisers, you will be able to invest in real estate, in a similar manner, to investing in a Mutual Fund.

If you want to invest in investment real estate, do so, wisely, and be prepared, for making the wisest, possible decisions! Understanding, financing options, etc, positions you, to make the best decision, for you!

Ghana’s property market is a direct reflection of the state of the West African nation itself in that it is emerging, developing, has immense potential but is restricted by serious fundamental issues relating to issues such as poor land title registration transparency and lack of affordable home financing solutions locally.

The best approach to take with Ghana is to line up all the negatives, knock them down with proof that the government and additional external bodies and agencies are tackling these issues head on and then identify the amazing potential available in Ghana for property investors from 2007 onwards…in this way an investor can determine whether 2007 is the year for them to begin their due diligence in Ghana for long term capital appreciating investment opportunities.

Current Issues Facing Ghana’s Property Market

The current issues facing Ghana’s property market include the fact that those buying resale land and property often buy litigation rather than land title because there is no decent system in place for the registration of title deeds and transfers and because the conveyancing system lacks transparency.

In addition to this the level of tourism growth in Ghana is not sufficient for the tourism economy to become an attractive sector for foreign direct investment at the moment. Furthermore there are problems in the main cities with homelessness and even those with a desire to own their own homes and who have a decent salary with which to afford a home loan have limited and restricted access to mortgages in Ghana.

Efforts Underway to Improve the Real Estate Marketplace in Ghana

The current government in Ghana inherited the situation as detailed above but are 100% focused on changing these issues and developing a nation of middle income home owners. To that end they have started numerous programs and schemes such as a program to attract greater foreign direct investment. The government is also working in partnership with the likes of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Development International Desjardins to develop regulatory reforms in the mortgage market and they have brought American based Broad Cove Partners Inc in which is an emerging market financial advisory firm and which is now developing a new USD 30 million long term property finance facility to assist with affordable housing and mortgage finance in Ghana.

In 2007 a new program to register every house on every street in Ghana will get underway to begin solving the land title issues and on the tourism side of things the Ghana Tourist Board has been active under the Acting Executive Director Martin Mireku. So far Mr. Mireku has brought Delta Airlines and North American Airlines to Ghana with multiple direct flights between Accra (the capital of Ghana) and the likes of New York every week and there is a strong campaign underway for these airlines and other international tourism representatives with interests in Ghana to promote the attractiveness and potential of the nation to the wider world.

A property investor looking at whether Ghana is a viable option for portfolio expansion purposes needs to understand that every issue that exists to restrict the attractiveness of the property market in Ghana is being addressed by the government or external agencies and that this proves their intense commitment to the improvement of their nation, the boosting of their economy, the raising of living standards of its people and the establishment of a sustainable source of foreign direct investment into the likes of tourism and real estate.

The Tourism Potential in Ghana

Tourism in Ghana currently contributes up to 8.5% of GDP and employs around 6.9% of the entire nation’s workforce; going forward it is predicted that the travel and tourism sector will grow by about 4.9 – 5% annually from 2007, but for the Ghanaian government that is not enough. In a bid to raise the profile of the country they have brought in international airlines as stated, they have also liberalised their aviation policy as a result and ongoing they are determined that this sector will boost the economy in a sustainable way over the long term.

An investor needs to understand that when tourism comes in earnest to Ghana there will be multiple layers of opportunity because it is a nation rich in natural wonders, delights and beauty from untouched and pristine beaches to an interior full of exotic and amazing wildlife in abundance, and there are just not the facilities for international travellers to experience and enjoy such delights safely and in comfort.

This represents huge investment opportunity…

Local Affordable Housing

The other area an investor can examine from 2007 onwards is the issue of the supply of affordable housing to Ghanaians. In recent years there has been a trend of rural to urban flow of migration and the trouble with this flow is that it has been strong and is sustained and there is just not enough housing to accommodate all those arriving and looking for work. As a result there is a homelessness problem developing in some of the more densely populated areas of the country and those with property assets available to let have been exploiting those requiring housing and demanding up to 3 years rent in advance.

In a bid to solve this problem the government has announced incentives for constructors to build affordable local housing starting in 2007 – and for the next five years as part of the National Housing Programme 20,000 new homes will be built in Ghana annually. Naturally enough investment in this sector is still required and those with a social conscience who want to actively participate in something that will return them a profit whilst benefiting a nation restricted by poverty should look at how they can get involved.

In conclusion, while there are true emerging market problems affecting the property market and the investment potential from real estate in Ghana at the moment, everything is being done that can be done to positively address and solve these problems. The most important factor to keep in mind therefore is that Ghana knows it has potential and is doing all it can to achieve this potential…and an investor seeking massive opportunity, low start up costs and huge long term potential for growth could well find that 2007 is the year for them to explore Ghana.

Calculus has many real world uses and applications in the physical sciences, computer science, economics, business, and medicine. I will briefly touch upon some of these uses and applications in the real estate industry.

Let’s start by using some examples of calculus in speculative real estate development (i.e.: new home construction). Logically, a new home builder wants to turn a profit after the completion of each home in a new home community. This builder will also need to be able to maintain (hopefully) a positive cash flow during the construction process of each home, or each phase of home development. There are many factors that go into calculating a profit. For example, we already know the formula for profit is: P = R – C, which is, the profit (P) is equal to the revenue (R) minus the cost (C). Although this primary formula is very simple, there are many variables that can factor in to this formula. For example, under cost (C), there are many different variables of cost, such as the cost of building materials, costs of labor, holding costs of real estate before purchase, utility costs, and insurance premium costs during the construction phase. These are a few of the many costs to factor in to the above mentioned formula. Under revenue (R), one could include variables such as the base selling price of the home, additional upgrades or add-ons to the home (security system, surround sound system, granite countertops, etc). Just plugging in all of these different variables in and of itself can be a daunting task. However, this becomes further complicated if the rate of change is not linear, requiring us to adjust our calculations because the rate of change of one or all of these variables is in the shape of a curve (i.e.: exponential rate of change)? This is one area where calculus comes into play.

Let’s say, last month we sold 50 homes with an average selling price of $500,000. Not taking other factors into consideration, our revenue (R) is price ($500,000) times x (50 homes sold) which equal $25,000,000. Let’s consider that the total cost to build all 50 homes was $23,500,000; therefore the profit (P) is 25,000,000 – $23,500,000 which equals $1,500,000. Now, knowing these figures, your boss has asked you to maximize profits for following month. How do you do this? What price can you set?

As a simple example of this, let’s first calculate the marginal profit in terms of x of building a home in a new residential community. We know that revenue (R) is equal to the demand equation (p) times the units sold (x). We write the equation as

R = px.

Suppose we have determined that the demand equation for selling a home in this community is

p = $1,000,000 – x/10.

At $1,000,000 you know you will not sell any homes. Now, the cost equation (C) is

$300,000 + $18,000x ($175,000 in fixed materials costs and $10,000 per house sold + $125,000 in fixed labor costs and $8,000 per house).

From this we can calculate the marginal profit in terms of x (units sold), then use the marginal profit to calculate the price we should charge to maximize profits. So, the revenue is

R = px = ($1,000,000 – x/10) * (x) = $1,000,000x – x^2/10.

Therefore, the profit is

P = R – C = ($1,000,000x – x^2/10) – ($300,000 + $18,000x) = 982,000x – (x^2/10) – $300,000.

From this we can calculate the marginal profit by taking the derivative of the profit

dP/dx = 982,000 – (x/5)

To calculate the maximum profit, we set the marginal profit equal to zero and solve

982,000 – (x/5) = 0

x = 4910000.

We plug x back into the demand function and get the following:

p = $1,000,000 – (4910000)/10 = $509,000.

So, the price we should set to gain the maximum profit for each house we sell should be $509,000. The following month you sell 50 more homes with the new pricing structure, and net a profit increase of $450,000 from the previous month. Great job!

Now, for the next month your boss asks you, the community developer, to find a way to cut costs on home construction. From before you know that the cost equation (C) was:

$300,000 + $18,000x ($175,000 in fixed materials costs and $10,000 per house sold + $125,000 in fixed labor costs and $8,000 per house).

After, shrewd negotiations with your building suppliers, you were able to reduce the fixed materials costs down to $150,000 and $9,000 per house, and lower your labor costs to $110,000 and $7,000 per house. As a result your cost equation (C) has changed to

C = $260,000 + $16,000x.

Because of these changes, you will need to recalculate the base profit

P = R – C = ($1,000,000x – x^2/10) – ($260,000 + $16,000x) = 984,000x – (x^2/10) – $260,000.

From this we can calculate the new marginal profit by taking the derivative of the new profit calculated

dP/dx = 984,000 – (x/5).

To calculate the maximum profit, we set the marginal profit equal to zero and solve

984,000 – (x/5) = 0

x = 4920000.

We plug x back into the demand function and get the following:

p = $1,000,000 – (4920000)/10 = $508,000.

So, the price we should set to gain the new maximum profit for each house we sell should be $508,000. Now, even though we lower the selling price from $509,000 to $508,000, and we still sell 50 units like the previous two months, our profit has still increased because we cut costs to the tune of $140,000. We can find this out by calculating the difference between the first P = R – C and the second P = R – C which contains the new cost equation.

1st P = R – C = ($1,000,000x – x^2/10) – ($300,000 + $18,000x) = 982,000x – (x^2/10) – $300,000 = 48,799,750

2nd P = R – C = ($1,000,000x – x^2/10) – ($260,000 + $16,000x) = 984,000x – (x^2/10) – $260,000 = 48,939,750

Taking the second profit minus the first profit, you can see a difference (increase) of $140,000 in profit. So, by cutting costs on home construction, you are able to make the company even more profitable.

Let’s recap. By simply applying the demand function, marginal profit, and maximum profit from calculus, and nothing else, you were able to help your company increase its monthly profit from the ABC Home Community project by hundreds of thousands of dollars. By a little negotiation with your building suppliers and labor leaders, you were able to lower your costs, and by a simple readjustment of the cost equation (C), you could quickly see that by cutting costs, you increased profits yet again, even after adjusting your maximum profit by lowering your selling price by $1,000 per unit. This is an example of the wonder of calculus when applied to real world problems.

If you are looking to buy a holiday or second home or invest in Romania, Transylvania or at the Black Sea and you are a foreign citizen/investor, there are few aspects you should know about the procedure an the costs for the acquisition of Romanian land or Romanian houses.

After 2012, foreign citizens EU citizens (non-Romanian) may purchase a home or apartment in Romania may freely buy and sell any Romanian property, without restrictions. Along with the sell price for the property, buying real estate in Romania has other costs associated with it.

If you have chosen to collaborate with a Romanian real estate agent/ broker you can expect to have an additional commission of approximately 2-4% of the price of the property. The local tax will be 2-4% of the price of the property. The signing of a contract must be witnessed by a public notary who submits it for certification by the Land Registry in charge of real estate records. The fees for the Romanian public notary is about 0.5-1% of the purchase price. You will also have to pay fees to the Land Registry (“Cartea Funciara”) to register the Transfer Deed. The Romanian Land Registry Fee for a purchase of a property will vary from 1-3% according to the length of time that the seller had owned the property and the property’s value.

The Romanian law on property states that Citizens of EU member states, legal persons incorporated in the EU member states and stateless people domiciled in an EU member state can purchase land in Romania only if the land is used for secondary residences or for secondary headquarters after a 5 (five) years term from the accession of Romania to the EU (starting with January 1st, 2012); only for the agricultural land and forest land 7 (seven) years term from the accession of Romania to the EU ( starting with January 1st, 2014).

But for the Citizens, legal persons and stateless people not from a EU member state, the Romanian legal system establishes that they can purchase land in Romania, under the conditions of international treaties between Romania and the states of origin on these persons, under a reciprocity basis.

In our point of view, a prudent investor will hire a Romanian lawyer/ a Romanian Law Office, who will liaise closely with the notary on the verification of the title, obtaining the Land Registry excerpt and the drafting of the agreement for the transfer of ownership of the real estate. This means that the Romanian lawyer will be solely acting for and is responsible to his or her client, whereas the notary will not have the same degree of responsibility to the purchaser.

Under Romanian law there are three basic rights to land and buildings such as right of ownership; usage rights as lease, usufruct, superficies; concession right. The principle of contractual liberty represents the key core of the property law in Romania.

Sometimes, an investor/purchaser can opt for closing a pre-sale agreement, by which the seller undertakes to transfer ownership to the buyer at a certain date in exchange for an agreed consideration. The content of the pre-sale contract will stipulate all commercial and legal conditions for the transfer of ownership, as conditions precedent to the final transfer of ownership. The closing of such pre-contract for purchase does not means the transfer over the property, but the stipulate binding obligations for the parties, in regard to, as example, damages or penalties set out in them, if the seller refuses to sign the final notarized deed of transfer at the agreed deadline.

The closing of the pre-sale agreement is to protect the investor/buyer from any possible purchase to other buyers and to matters regarding the fixed price and duration of a future purchase. In our point of view, it is a must that the pre-sale agreement to be concluded at a Public Notary and clearly stipulate the sale price and other clauses regarding duration of future purchase. In this case, it can be enforced in court on the buyer’s request as a deed to transfer ownership.

A sale agreement signed in Romania, according to the Romanian legislation will mandatory stipulate: obligations of the parties for the fulfillment of the sale contract, delivery and quality conditions of goods and/or services, terms, payment methods and payment guarantees, payment instruments and price insurance, contractual risk, as well as method of solving eventual litigations arising from the contract. Other required elements include the full name and identification details of the parties (for legal entities) and name of the person signing the contract (representing a legal entity).

Our team of romanian lawyers offer a wide variety of legal services in the real estate law http://www.lawyersinromania.com

We are a full-service real estate company offering the most comprehensive real estate services available in the market, and we go the extra mile to assist our clients on a daily basis. We work tirelessly on your behalf to make your next buying or selling experience a pleasant and successful one.

Our services include working with both buyers and sellers in a wide array of markets including residential, commercial, land, and other related property types.

Our company is dedicated to serving your every real estate needs. We are committed to providing a superior level of service in order to ensure a smooth and beneficial outcome to each and every transaction.

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Our team maintain exceptional knowledge of the local markets, outstanding negotiating skills, and the experience necessary to give you the service you deserve. Professionalism, dedication, and knowledge make us the perfect choice when selecting a realtor.

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We will work with you to find your ideal home by using a wide array of resources and we will make sure all your buying needs are met.

we will utilise our outstanding negotiating skills in order for you to receive the best possible price for your new property. We look forward to serving all your buying needs.

Buying or selling your home will be an enjoyable and rewarding experience when you work with Kargil Properties and their innovative and effective methods for generating successful results quickly and efficiently.

A Commitment to Excellence
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Lane Number 5, New Airport Rd,
Viman Darshan, Pune,
Maharashtra 411014

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Owner And Director Of Kargil Properties:Mr. Sanat Thakur is an Ex- Army person, Motivational Speaker, NLP certified Trainer& Life coach, Successful Entrepreneur.