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Real estate is said to be one of the best investments that an individual can make, but if this is true, why do so many people fail at it? The truth is that an adequate real estate education is needed in order to help you out along the way because the real estate industry can truly turn on you in a real hurry if you are not prepared. Real estate investments are very likely to yield a generous return if the proper steps are taken, but too many people simply do not have the skills to make these deals happen. These are the people who did not take the time to get a real estate investing education and, therefore, will be more likely to fail when things do not go according to plan.

A proper education will prepare these investors for the problems that they will deal with along the way and give these people the skills that they need to work through these problems. In addition, this education teach innovative techniques that many more seasoned investors might not have, which will give these students an advantage in this very competitive industry. During the course, the real estate investor will also be introduced to lenders, builders, attorneys and bankers who can help them close the deals in an efficient manner. Having these connections could be the difference between succeeding and failing, so this is reason in itself to get a real estate education. These courses can even be broken down into specific types of investing, which can cut down on your classroom time and get you into the game even faster.

Even with a real estate investing education, there might be some bumps along the road, but this education will give the investor an idea of how to deal with these bumps without losing too much. There is so much more that goes into real estate investing than simply buying properly, developing it, and selling the finished product and all beginning investors need to know about these nuances before getting involved. Even more seasoned real estate investors are now taking these courses to refresh their memories and possibly even add new techniques to their knowledge base. All successful businesspeople will tell you to never stop learning and this education is one way to stay on top of things.

A real estate education is becoming almost mandatory for those who wish to become real estate investors because so many successful people have already been through these courses. Therefore, taking them can level the playing field somewhat because you will have access to the same techniques as people who have already made a lot of money. This field is not for everyone and it requires a great deal of risk when starting out, so it is extremely important that you are aware of these immense risks. This education will also help you make you aware of what you can lose during this process, which will allow you to make the best decision possible for yourself.

At the present time, in many areas of this country, there are more, licensed, real estate agents, than, houses, currently, listed and available, on the local market. In addition, there are some, who believe (in my opinion, falsely), they don’t need to hire an agent, and proceed, to try, to do it, themselves! For many reasons, it makes little, to no sense, to do this, primarily, because: studies/ surveys, indicate houses sold by real estate professionals, generally, sell, for considerably, more; the degree of expertise, to be prepared, for contingencies; avoiding the hassle, of showing your home, regularly; transaction advice; and, perhaps, most importantly, often, professional negotiating, and knowing/ understanding the market! After over 15 years, as a Real Estate Licensed Salesperson, in the State of New York, I strongly, believe, smart agents, use, at least, these 5 steps, to being a quality, effective, real estate negotiator.

1. Know/ understand/ consider your client’s goals/ perceptions/ priorities: Properly marketing, and getting someone’s house sold, for the best combination of terms, requires, focusing, and emphasizing, taking the time, and making a concerted effort, to know, and understand, your client’s goals, perceptions, and priorities! Effective listening, and paying keen attention, enhances the possibility of proceeding, with, the highest degree of genuine empathy, and understanding! How can you properly represent someone, unless you begin, with this knowledge?

2. Understand other side’s needs: If, you are representing a buyer, you must understand what the seller, is seeking. When, you represent, a homeowner/ seller, you must look at his house, as a potential buyer might, and commit to telling your client, what he, needs to know! When, you make an offer, and/ or, receive one, it’s important, to recognize, and realize, the negotiations, begin!

3. Seek common ground: The best negotiating approach, is normally, not, adversarial, but, rather, proceeding, with a win – win, strategy! Quality negotiations must be based on, seeking common ground, and bringing about, a meeting – of – the – minds!

4. Address pricing, and other key issues: Pricing is, often, the deciding issue, in getting agreement, but, it’s important, to discuss these, as they relate to other terms, financial, emotional, time – related, potential stress, and/ or, risk/ reward considerations!

5. Close the deal: It’s not a professional performance, unless/ until, an agent, brings – about a deal, both sides, are satisfied with! Valuable representation must end – up, effectively, closing the deal!

Will you commit to using these 5 steps, in order to being a better, real estate negotiating professional? Are you committed, and willing, to be better?

As the Great Recessions is slowly but surely fading away with the hopes of eventual recovery showing up on the horizon, foreign buyers and investors starting to pursue opportunities in the US real estate market again. Even though stable recovery of the housing market is still “work in progress”, many foreigners recognize that American real estate is “On Sale”, plus the dollar is historically weak, so many buyers are trying to snatch the bargains in residential and commercial properties here. However, a foreign buyer investing in the US must take extra diligence to plan the acquisitions due to nuances in taxation laws, title holding rules, money transfer rules and many other factors. There are many aspects to consider, I’ll concentrate on some key points:

(1) DOCUMENT EVERYTHING: Before you transfer even a dollar here, make sure you can verify where the money came from. Any transfers over $10,000 into the US, including your all cash real estate buys, will be reported to the federal authorities, and when the Feds come asking questions, you need to make sure that you can prove legal sources of your cash. According to 2001 Patriot Act and the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, escrow and title companies, brokers, banks must report to the federal authorities any large deposits and money transfers over $10,000. Make sure you have documentation backing up your sources of income, taxes paid overseas, bank account statements, investment account statements, in other words – the paper trail.

(2) FINANCE OR ALL-CASH? If you are planning to buy with all cash, it will give you many advantages as the “all cash” buyers might enjoy deeper discounts from motivated sellers in many areas. All cash buyers can close deals very fast, and some sellers prefer to deal with buyers like this. However, I recommend that you plan the acquisitions with a real estate investment adviser to see if buying with some type of financing will be financially more beneficial for your investment strategy because of leverage-enhanced ROI and distribution of risk among several properties.

If you’re looking to finance your real estate acquisition in the US, be prepared to encounter some tough times. Real Estate Financing is pretty tough for even Americans these days, but for foreigners it’s even tougher. There are only a handful of institutional lenders who will consider loans for foreign nationals, but they will all require a large downpayment (at least 30% or more) and verification of income from your country. If you have a work visa in the US, such as H or L, and have an established credit history in the US, you may be able to qualify for regular financing with as little as 3.5% down even though you are still considered a “foreign national”.

If you have established relationship with your bank in your own country or another foreign bank, you may consider obtaining financing from them and then bringing the loan proceeds into the US as “all cash” purchase, again just make sure to have documentation as to where the money came from.

Alternatively, there a many private lenders who will lend up to 65% of the asset value at 9-12% annually regardless of your immigration status, and if you are looking for a commercial property, you might be able to finance it easier too, because commercial lenders underwrite loans primarily on the merits and income of the property itself, rather than the borrower.

(3) CONTROL YOUR ASSETS: In the US you can hold title to the property in many different ways: as an individual, corporation (either domestic or foreign), Limited Liability Company, partnership, living trust, pension fund, or many other form of entity. Each of these forms has advantages and disadvantages, especially when it comes to taxation of the rental income received from your investment property, transfer of the property to related or unrelated parties, estate planning and many other situations. You need to decide BEFORE you buy a property in the US how you will own the property, spend some time with a knowledgeable international tax advisor to learn about your options.

Investing in real estate is a very hands-on enterprise. You must think through the details before you buy the first property. It’s very hard to operate a rental business when you don’t see what’s happening yourself. I’m working with many investors and have owned many rental properties, and can tell many horror stories about property management companies embezzling money from out of town investors, renting units for cash but reporting them vacant, overinflating repair bills, etc. How are you planning to control your investment physically while living in India or Russia and owning properties in the US?

(4) BEFORE YOU ENTER, PLAN YOUR EXIT. Are you planning to sell for profit? How long before you sell? Did you account for the future capital gain tax? Will you take the money out of the country? If you are planning to sell for profit but re-invest proceeds into another property, you need to become familiar with 1031 tax-deferred exchanges that allow you to trade and consolidate properties for years and decades without paying a dime of taxes until their final disposition. It’s a great tool for smart investors that can make you very rich, but again, you have to plan for this strategy in advance and consult with a knowledgeable person. Besides, when you are selling a property here as a foreign individual, you are subject to all kinds of withholdings regardless if you made any profit or not, including 10% withholding under FIRPTA just because you are a foreigner, 3 1/3% withholding in California because the property is non-owner occupied, etc. But, you can avoid some of these withholdings if you learn the rules and plan your title holding strategy in advance!

(5) VISA CONSIDERATIONS: Important misconception I see among many foreign buyers that I’d like to address here: don’t assume that owning real estate in the US will automatically entitle you to a US visa. You can own $10 million of properties in the US, but still be denied an entry visa. So, make sure to get your visa status cleared first and then come to the US to look at areas of interest and specific properties. DO NOT EVER BUY PROPERTIES SIGHT UNSEEN!!!

(6) WHY REAL ESTATE? Finally, ask yourself honestly: why are you investing in real estate in the US? Because of visa, passive income, future market appreciation, or because you are thinking of making it your future home? If visa and investment potential are your main decision factors, consider some alternatives that can provide you with similar ROI (return on Investment) and visa opportunities, such as EB-5 visas ($1 million dollar minimum), “Regional Centers” ($500,000 minimum), E-2 small investor visas ($200,000 investment), etc. Or you can combine several strategies, depending on your preferences and access to capital.

Bottom line: your investing in real estate here should be a RESULT and the FINAL STEP of some serious planning path. Measure seven times, cut once, as we say in Russian. It’s much easier to avoid costly mistakes before you step into this market than waste time and money undoing mistakes made in the course of a rushed poorly planned real estate venture. Happy Investing!

Now Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China its star is rising as fast as China’s and the entire real estate sector in Hong Kong is benefiting.

The physical geographic restrictions of Hong Kong mean that there is a finite supply of residential and commercial real estate available for sale and rent; and as Hong Kong further strengthens its already robust economic, trade and investment ties with China, the demand for real estate in the region is intensifying.

Competing for space are multinational companies and their massive expatriate employee base, local businesses and local residents, tourists and students. In fact the demand for residential and commercial space in Hong Kong is at its highest today since the glory days pre-1998. Having suffered an acute recession from 1998 until 2003 real estate prices are for sale at deflated costs and are therefore seen as being undervalued which means the real estate market is in a great position right now to grow and expand.

Because demand for real estate in Hong Kong is so intense…

Because Hong Kong’s economy is going from strength to strength…

Because domestic purchasing power is so strong…

And because the real estate market is believed to be currently undervalued – the wealth of opportunity for profit in Hong Kong’s property market right now is intense.

Real estate investors from around the world are buying into the projected period of growth and are committing substantial funds to the Hong Kong market. In terms of any restrictions placed on foreign investors there are none in Hong Kong…in theory anyone is permitted to purchase property. As with all city based real estate economies property in Hong Kong – though currently considered to be undervalued – cannot be regarded as ‘cheap’. However anyone who wishes to get into the market can get mortgages locally in Hong Kong to purchase and can almost guarantee the rental income they will generate if they choose to buy residential or commercial units to let.

The medium term prospects for the real estate market in Hong Kong are good with analysis showing that the number of renovation and new development projects started in recent years is below what is required for the current level of demand. This undersupply will last for at least the next four years according to expert industry analysis. This has resulted in predictions for property price growth of up to 12% annually for at least the next four years, making the real estate market in Hong Kong today a highly attractive prospect.

Although various localities have specific mechanisms, nearly every one has a process to appeal or grieve one’s real estate taxes. In most cases, this can either be done by oneself, or you can hire someone else (or some company) to do so, for you. Why would someone grieve his real estate taxes? One reason might be because most of your neighbors do so, and you will suffer financially, by not doing so. Another is, if you believe your house is being appraised for more than it should be, and thus, you will being paying more taxes than you need to, or should. Regardless of your reasons for doing so, every homeowner should realize he has certain options and rights, and this article will attempt to touch upon 3 of the basic steps in appealing and correcting something which might adversely impact you.

1. Comparative Market Analysis (CMA): Before you can claim you are being charged too much, you must create and present a basis for your belief. In nearly every locality, one must accumulate realistic, relevant, comparable homes, and compare what they are being charged in taxes, to what you are. For example, if you can locate 5 or 6 homes, which are similar in size, location, property, condition, etc, and their assessed values vary significantly with your home’s, you have created the best initial basis, for appeal. If you are capable of doing so, yourself, you will gain the greatest benefit, but if you cannot, or don’t have the time or inclination, contact a reputable company, to handle this for you. In many cases, these companies will charge you up to 50% of your savings, but remember, that’s still far better than what you would otherwise be paying, etc. In addition, you’ll only be charged the fee, if you receive a reduced assessment, and savings!

2. Show what others pay in taxes (or are assessed): Once you’ve identified the relevant other properties, show how much less they may be paying than you are. This is what you submit as your grievance, etc.

3. Fill out the necessary forms/ paperwork: Depending on your location, this process might either be rather simple, or more complex/ complicated! In either case, you must obtain, and properly fill out completely, all the necessary forms and paperwork. This is another reason many people opt to use one of the companies that provides this service.

While it is your responsibility to pay your real estate taxes, it is not, to pay more than you should fairly do so! If you believe you are being unfairly taxed, relative to your neighbors, follow the grievance or appeals process.