A recent trend in the luxury home market has been swapping homes for brief, or extended vacations. Luxe Home Swap allows individuals to swap homes so that they can have unique experiences, vacations, or even, a retreat far away from their own home. Luxe Home Swap is a way to holiday in style and blend in like a local, allowing you to make maximum value of your home or second home.
The site presents a unique opportunity – to vacation in a very luxurious accommodations without paying a hotel. Luxe Home Swap says that the site is for savvy people with homes they’re proud of in major cities and desirable locations – from San Francisco to Sydney, Vancouver to Verbier, Barbados to Bali, plus lots of other places you might never have thought of visiting…yet. If you have investment properties or second home this may be an ideal way to get the most out of the property by hosting guests and then using their homes in exchange.
If you had invested $100,000 in the stock market in the 1st quarter of 2000 (10 years ago), what would your investment be valued at today? Of course the answer would depend on what the specific stock or stocks you bought, but consider this:
The Dow went from 10,921 on January 3, 2000 to 10,583 as of Jan 3, 2010 — and at this writing it’s hovering around 10,186. So, $100,000 invested in a DJIA-like stock portfolio ten years ago would now be worth less than $100,000. See the DJIA information for reference.
By comparison, the average house purchased for $100,000 in the Cincinnati-Middletown-OH-KY-IN MSA during the 1st Quarter 2000 would have been worth $122,438 in the 1st Quarter of this year. Click here for FHA data. Of course, all real estate is local and just as stock appreciation depends on the particular stock, real estate appreciation depends on the particular property.
So, which was a better investment? You be the judge. Besides, everybody has to live somewhere!
We are pleased to welcome our first guest blogger Marc Rasmussen, a Realtor with Michael Saunders and Company in Sarasota, Florida. As the weather cools here in Cincinnati we often think of where we may spend our next winter. We are so happy that Marc is with us to talk about luxury real estate in Sarasota, because it will be nice to see palm trees and waterfronts in December.
Marc Rasmussen
I look forward to his posts about thier local market, and the properties and deals for those of us looking for a winter home. Please welcome Marc and enjoy his entries.
Recently I have been working with a number of clients who have expressed interest in purchasing a foreclosed property simply because of the savings, compared to the market value of the home. Foreclosures are still abundant in Cincinnati and as the jobless recovery continues, sadly, more foreclosures will be coming on the market.
Thankfully the volume of property has been manageable compared to the foreclosure glut that other states have experienced. According to foreclosure-tracking company RealtyTrac.com
, over half of the country’s foreclosure-related actions in August occurred California, Florida, Michigan, and Nevada. The top 10 list also includes Arizona, Illinois, Georgia, Ohio, Texas and New Jersey.
The word of caution I give my buyers is that with a foreclosure, the savings on the initial sale price may not yield an overall benefit depending on the condition of the home. Those considerations, coupled with the general complexity of the Foreclosure purchasing process, are giving my buyers an appreciation for how much more value a well maintained home has.
If you are interested in purchasing a foreclosure call me at 513-518-1140 or e-mail me for more information.
Realtor Magazine had an article on investing in a slower market. Many real estate professionals are buying property today agreeing that purchasing investment property is less about market timing than good analysis. You may find more properties that meet your yield requirements in a slower market where prices have declined and rents have remained stable. Lower initial purchase prices are inconsequential if the rent and vacancy rates do not support your income expectations.
While cash flow, appreciation, leverage, and taxes all figure into the investment analysis equation, the bottom line for most buyers is positive cash flow after paying the mortgage and taxes. Investors appreciate that a break-even investment can be a good when you are in a position to hold them longer term. I recommend looking for properties that will return 3% to 5% for single-family homes and condos, and 7% to 8% on three to four family properties. These returns are very attractive compared to current market performance.
The most important part of purchasing an investment property is being familiar with the neighborhood and understanding the trends in the market. Investment properties are good sources of passive income generation so long as they are filled with tenants and the rent rates cover the mortgage and maintenance expenses. Please contact me if you have any questions on your investment needs.
If you or anyone you know owns residential rental property in Ohio please read the following information so that you are not in violation of Ohio Code. Owners must register with the county in which their rental property is located. The forms are available through the Cincinnati area county auditor websites.
Ohio Revised Code Section (R.C.) 5323.02 requires an owner of residential rental property to register a contact agent for that property with the auditor’s office within 60 days (including weekends and holidays) following the day a real property conveyance form for that property is filed with the county auditor. Failure to file this information in a timely manner may result in the assessment of a penalty of up to $150 against the property that is the subject of the violation. Residential property under this umbrella does not include a hotel or a university dorm.
If there are multiple individual owners of the residential rental property, only one owner has to file as the contact agent. If the property is owned by the following ownership vehicles the individual who must file is in parentheses next to the type of the ownership: trust (trustee), business trust (trustee), estate partnership (executor or administrator), limited partnership (general partner), limited liability company (member, mgr, or officer), association (associate), corporation (officer) or other business entity (member, mgr, or officer).
If you need assistance with this process please contact me and I can email you the form for your county.
Across the country local and state governments are enacting laws aimed at minimizing the eyesore of foreclosed homes, according to USA Today. Properties in foreclosure are often left uncared fore and fall into disrepair, leaving local municipalities with the responsibility of maintaining the property.
In Chicago, owners can use plywood to board up windows and doors for only six months. They must use real windows and metal doors if the home is vacant longer than that and install an alarm system. Garland, Texas requires a $2,500 bond from the property owners, which the city can access to maintain the home as needed.
We have not seen any new legislation come out pertaining to foreclosed homes in Cincinnati. Beyond discouraging squatting maintaining foreclosed homes in good order helps to keep the value of neighborhoods at fair market levels, a good proposition for all involved.
Investors who own multi-family properties or apartment buildings are consistently trying to ensure that their rental rates are consistent with the market. Where as an investor can you go to find the market rates for your area. You can look in the local newspaper such as the Cincinnati Enquirer or community newspaper such as Suburban Life Press for the real estate classified ads.
There are more specialized websites that can show general market trends that have more specific information for areas with a lot of rental property. Apartment Ratings.com is a resource that property owners can use for this purpose. Move.com and Apartment Finder.com have apartment listings with amenity descriptions so that you can compare your property to others that are on the market for rent.
I am searching for other websites that list specific apartment rental rates in Cincinnati with more specific rental data listed by neighborhood. Please email me or comment below if you are aware of a database with this information.
