Flipping a Home the Safe Way - Real Estate Investing Some times a Flip turns into a Flop. Flipping a Home the safe way is very important; especially for the smaller investor that cannot afford to loose money. I think real estate investing is a great way to invest, even for small investors. Over time there is lots of money to be made and it is a physical asset. There are lots of tools and things to consider when Investing in Real Estate. I recommend you request my Book on Real Estate Investing for details. But with any Investment there is always risk.I once heard a big time real estate investor say that one in six investments ends up going wrong and loosing money. I think the small scale investors I tend to work with have done better than that, but you still need to know what you are doi... 02/05/2016

Rent Payments Can Really Add Up!No matter how much you pay in rent, you might be surprised what it adds up to over the years. Investing your money in a home may be a wiser financial choice. With the current home prices and mortgage rates, this is an excellent time to look into buying your own home in Antioch,California.Common Concerns of Renters and Homeowners - Advantages and ConsiderationsBUYINGProperty builds equityResponsible for maintenanceTax deductible mortgage interest*Responsible for property taxesFree to change decor and landscapingResponsible for hazard insuranceNot dependent on landlord to maintain propertyRENTINGLandlord is responsiblefor maintenanceNo equity gainsLandlord is responsible forproperty taxesRent payments are not tax deductiblePossibility of evictionNo control ... 01/15/2016

East Contra Costa County Real Estate Market Report – 11/15East Contra Costa County Homes are in demand and with good reason. East Contra Costa County Homes are affordable and are yet some of the nicest Homes in Contra Costa County. Click Here to Search East Contra Costa County Homes Now!East Contra Costa County Homes include fantastic 55+ Communities, Gated Communities, Golf Course Communities, Homes with Deep Water Docks and so much more. Let's take a look at the Housing Market in East Contra Costa County as of 11/17/15 and compare it to last year: Period # High Low Average PPSF* DOM** Active 526 $5,000,000.00 $79,900.00 $532,321.00 $235.75 57 Sold 10/15 377 $1,380,000.00 $130,000.00 $409,157.00 $210.26 27 Sold 10/14 358 $975,000.00 $65,000.00 $371,012.00 $190.60 35 *Price Per Square F... 11/20/2015

The difference between a Flipper and a Rental - Real Estate InvestingThere are two basic kinds of Real Estate Investors; Those that want to buy and flip and those that want to buy and hold as a rental. Each one has a different strategy and approach to buying. Now there is some middle ground, but in general these are the two approaches.A real estate flipper wants to pick up a home cheap enough that they can use their expertise to do some repairs and then sell it or a profit. Generally they want to do this in a relative quick time frame. Time is money to the flipper. Some flippers have more integrity than others, but the focus of any work they do will be making the house look good and raising the value in the eyes of a buyer. Often this involves a lot of cosmetic repairs and fancy upgrade... 11/17/2015

Antioch California Housing Market – 11 2015 Big Time Gentrification! The Antioch California Housing Market is a dynamic market with good news for Antioch Home Buyers, Antioch Home Sellers, and Antioch Home Owners.Take a Look at Antioch Homes for Sale Now!Antioch California is the largest community in East Contra Costa County; setting on the Sacramento River it is truly the gateway to the delta. Antioch has a great water front business district, a great infrastructure, and is a community on the way back up after the housing crash. Antioch has lots of newer construction featuring large executive style homes to classic single story ranch style homes.This report covers single family homes in Antioch on 1 acre or less, sold sense August and active as of 11/9/15. Take a look at our last Antio... 11/13/2015

 Whether you are named as an administrator or you are one of the heirs, here is some useful information to take into consideration when dealing with probate properties:The probate process can sometimes take up to 24 months. There will also be some expenses associated with the process, however, as an administrator, you can expect to be reimbursed. Taking over the task of as administrator can be a full time position, make sure you have enough time to accommodate all the duties. You should be compensated accordingly, compensation must be approved by the court.Probate Properties are sold “as is” with no additional fix up improvements. So don’t expect to make any repairs other than the preparation of the property to go in the market.So make the RIGHT decision and go with a real estate profes... 09/28/2015

Antioch California Market Report August 2015Here is a great post on the Antioch California Real Estate Market. I put up at my site HomePointContraCosta.com. I hope you enjoy the post here and I hope you will take a look at my new web site and give me your thoughts.Antioch California is a great community in the heart of East Contra Costa County. Antioch Homes are very affordable Quality Homes. In Antioch there is a variety of Home Styles and Communities. There are many fine older Antioch Homes; including Antioch Single Story Ranch Style Homes in the more established communities. There are newer in larger Executive Style Homes Antioch Homes too.Antioch is the largest community in East Contra Costa County with a great revitalized water front downtown and shopping district. Featuring many f... 08/14/2015

You Really Cannot Look Past That Crap!I have 4 listings all with one seller. All four were occupied by tenants and I agreed to sell the occupied homes. We listed at about the bottom of the market for what we had. Not fire sale prices, but certainly low and low enough that after cleaned up there would be some equity for the buyers.Three of the tenants were very cooperative, but one was a problem and it took sometime to get her out of the property. Oddly enough the one with uncooperative tenant went into escrow first, sight unseen based on my pictures and the size of the lot (as well as great pricing). When we got in the buyer was able to look past things to see what she could do with the home. As an aside it is my favorite of the listed properties and I can also see the potential for the... 08/04/2015

Chasing Unicorns – What's Keeping You From Owning a Home?When I list homes it is funny to watch the market patterns. Sometimes there is no Rhyme or Reason to things. Some weeks and weekends I have crowds coming through the homes. Other weekends the same homes are vacant only to see another wave the following weekend. Some reasons are obvious. Mother's Day Weekend was dead, not just Mother's Day but the entire weekend. I can kind of understand that; but Father's Day was busy (I guess dad's don't matter or like home shopping). First weekend in June – Dead. Second Weekend in June busy. Now my guess is that first weekend every one was busy with graduation and end of school parties. But I am not sure. Just Finished Independence Day Weekend and things were dead.But there is a pattern that is ... 07/06/2015

VA Mortgage Loans in Codora  CA and 100% VA Loans -the best loan program in the country! VA Mortgage Loans are one of the best mortgage loan programs available today for both honorably discharged Vets and active duty military personnel. Here are some of the great features of this fantastic program: - Up to 100% financing, with no down required. - No monthly mortgage insurance added to your payment. - More lenient credit qualifying standards than other types of mortgage loans. - Low rates compared to other loan programs. So how do you qualify for a VA Mortgage Loan in Codora  CA? The first step is to verify your eligibility. Eligibility is verified by ordering your Certificate of Eligibility or COE. You can work with an approved Windsor  CA VA mortgage loan lender to order your COE quic... 06/29/2015

Time to Buy a Home in Antioch? – June 2015 Market ReportAntioch California Homes are great buys and offer great potential for equity growth. Antioch is a great community with a great infrastructure; newer, parks, schools, roads and community facilities. The housing crises took a toll on Antioch, but as home prices are bouncing back so is Antioch. With the increase in property tax revenues and sales tax revenues Antioch is investing heavily in expanded law enforcement, code enforcement, and community facilities. Buyer recognize the value in Antioch California Homes and Prices have been Trending up on Antioch California Homes all year. See the May 2015 Antioch Homes Report and the May 2015 Report of Antioch Homes in 94509. In May the price increases continued. Here are May Antioch Sold Ho... 06/19/2015

Should you Evict and Remodel before doing a 1031 Exchange?So you have a rental property that you have owned for some time and is ready for a 1031 Exchange. Of course you have rented it out and it has/had tenants in it. You have kept the house livable but have not done any major upgrades and avoided repairs. And let's face it the tenants have not told you about problems that have been developing.What do you do? Do you sell it as is or do you upgrade the property (like a flip) and sell it? Right off the bat to really get it in a top notch showing condition you would need to get the tenants out, not just for the fix up, but while it is on the market. So you are loosing money on rents. So part of the decision is taking a hard look at the market to determine how much the fix will increase th... 05/13/2015

Antioch California Home Sales 94509 May 2015 Report.Antioch Homes are still going up in price and the demand is quickening. I just completed a Market Report covering the entire city. But I wanted to take a look at one of the two Zip Codes alone; Antioch California 94509. This is very selfish as I have 4 fine listings in this Zip Code. 2216 Coolidge Court; 1017 Rotherham Drive; 2928 Rio Grande; and 2952 Carmona Way. Antioch California 94509 Zip Code is generally thought of as covering the more established parts of Antioch. This includes the area North of Highway 4 and areas South of Highway 4. You will find a number of single story Ranch Style Homes that are very popular. But the West Side of Antioch near James Donlan Blvd and Summersville Road you will find a lot of Newer Homes and New ... 05/12/2015

Antioch California Home Sales May 2015 Report.Antioch Homes are still going up in price and the demand is quickening. If you are considering Buying a Home in Antioch or Selling a Home in Antioch you need to take a look at the pricing trends. Antioch is one of the most up coming communities in Contra Costa County. With the recent rise in Home Prices Antioch is starting a gentrification process. The community has a very good infrastructure with nice, roads, parks, and community facilities. The homes are still very affordable, and yet nice, compared to many other areas in the county and this is attracting buyers.Let's take a look at what is happening with Single Family Home Sales in Antioch California in 2015. This is based on the MLS as of 5/6/15. (PPSF is Price Per Square Foot) (DOM is D... 05/12/2015

How much Money are you loosing on your Investment Properties?Many people who bought investment properties even just 3 or 4 years ago are loosing money on their investment. The sad part is they probably do not even realize it. They may well have a good cash flow and think everything is fine, but dollars are flying out the door. Why is this happening? To understand why you need to understand two basic investing principles: Leverage or OPM (Other Peoples Money). Basically generally when investing it pays to borrow, especially when money is as cheap to borrow as it is now. In short suppose your Investment Property is appreciating at 4% a year. If it is a $400,000.00 property and you put $100,000.00 if it is going up in value 4% a year you are earning 16% on your investment. Assuming the pro... 05/04/2015

The Number One Secret of Real Estate!The number one secret of Real Estate is that there are no secrets. I get calls all the time from people that want to see a house they saw on line that looks like a great deal. Of course we all want a great deal but generally I see several things happen: It is a phantom listing. A home that is not really on the market. Often it is a listing that is not really for sale that an agent is holding out there as bait in order to get the phone to ring. (This does happen. I once had a Broker I worked for, for a very short time, advise me to list my own home for sale – not to sell it but just to get the phone to ring.) Sometimes this great listing is a Pre-Foreclosure home on a web site where the price is based on the balance owed on the loan, not the market va... 04/21/2015

Great Layout with RV Parking    Huge Price Cut $313,000 to $299,950   Best Buy on a 4 Bedroom 2 Bath Home in Antioch! Overview Maps Photos Open House Market Stats $299,950 Single Family Home Main Features 4 Bedrooms2 BathroomsInterior: 1,573 sqftLot: 6,695 sqftYear Built: 1969MLS #: 40704075 Location 2928 Rio Grande DriveAntioch, CA 94509USA Eugene Riemenschneider HomePointRealEstate(925) 260-4321Gene@HomePointRealEstate.comhttp://HomePointRealEstate.com    Listed by: Home Point Real Estate   04/14/2015

Corner Lot - 4 Bedrooms Overview Maps Photos Description Market Stats $310,000 Single Family Home Main Features 4 Bedrooms2 BathroomsInterior: 1,649 sqftLot: 6,499 sqftYear Built: 1976MLS #: 40694403 Location 1017 Rotherham DriveAntioch, CA 94509USA Eugene Riemenschneider HomePointRealEstate(925) 260-4321Gene@HomePointRealEstate.comhttp://HomePointRealEstate.com    Listed by: Home Point Real Estate Nearby properties for sale 04/14/2015

Antioch Homes for Sale out the gate in 2015! Antioch Homes for Sale are very popular and offer an excellent opportunity to Buy a Home to live in or Buy a Real Estate Investment Property. The main question I get is, “Will Home Prices in Antioch California continue to go up?” I am not permitted to give you an answer, and tomorrow is never certain. But we can look at certain real estate trends and make an educated guess. Gene Just Show Me the Antioch Homes for Sale Now! The winter holidays and winter in general is often viewed as a slow time in Real Estate. So during this traditional slow time when we have been hit with a lot of hard weather what has been going on? In short Antioch Home Prices are still going up: In December Antioch Homes Sold totaled 88 with prices from $127,000 to $495,0... 02/04/2015

2952 Carmona Way – Off MLS Property for Sale! Off MLS Property for sale in Antioch California. 2952 Carmona Way Antioch CA. This 1632 SF, Single Story, Four Bedroom and Two Bathroom Home sets on a huge corner lot. Plenty of room for RV Parking or Boats. Granite Counter Tops, Fireplace, Sunken Living Room, and many fine upgrades. The Property is listed at $300,000.00. There is a tenant in place. The GRM is 13.9% and the property offers a great return for those looking to continue to use it as an investment property. Special Financing available for Investors, First Time Buyers and others. This is an off market property not currently on the MLS and is offered Exclusively through Home Point Real Estate (HomePointRealEstate.com 925-260-4321). Do not disturb tenant. Property shown by appointm... 02/03/2015