A Guide to Benidorm Property

Benidorm property has become very popular in recent years. People from all over Europe have been purchasing property here. Some purchase a second home for their own use. Others purchase property as an investment and rent it out when not in use.

Finding Benidorm Property

You can research properties on the internet, prior to visiting the area. Real estate websites are a good resource for viewing properties. You can look at descriptions and pictures of the properties for sale. This will give you an idea of what is out there and the prices for real estate in the area.

You will want to make several visits to the area to determine the areas where you want to live. Rent properties in a different area each time you visit. This will give you some insight into the area. You will get the opportunity to see the area in the day and at night. Talk to some of the neighbours and spend time exploring the area.

Set a budget for your purchase. How much can you afford to spend? Be sure you can afford the payments, taxes and any other expenses. Even if you plan to rent the property for part of the year, be sure you can afford the payments without this income. In many cases, you will be using your primary residence as collateral on the loan. Be sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew.

When you are ready to view properties in person, contact a real estate agent. You want someone who is experienced and reputable. If you don’t speak Spanish, look for a bilingual agent. This will make communication easier. Make an appointment with the agent to visit properties on your next trip to Benidorm.

Once you have chosen where you want to live, hire a lawyer to help you. An attorney is helpful for looking out for your interests. You will want someone to look over real estate contracts and mortgage papers. The opinion of an experienced attorney can be very valuable and save you money and headaches.

An attorney in Spain will be familiar with Spanish laws regarding real estate and mortgages. He can explain these laws to you. Look for a bilingual lawyer if you don’t speak Spanish. He will be able to translate information for you so you understand what you are getting into. You will be sure to understand the terms and conditions of the contract as well as the loan.

Will You Live in or Rent Your Benidorm Property?

Consider whether the property will be for your own use or if you will rent it for part of the year. This may influence your decision on where to buy. If you plan to use the property primarily as a rental, you will want to look in more popular tourist areas. This will make the property more attractive to prospective renters.

The Costa Blanca is very busy in the summer months. Rentals tend to get booked well in advance, as much as six months in advance. In the busier tourist areas, you can get a really good price for renting your property. However, the area can get congested at this time. If you are planning to rent the home, you may want this.

Wilmington NC in the News Again

Wilmington NC is ranked in the top ten in the United States for real estate investment according to CNN Money, with projected gain in home prices of 37% over a 5 year period.

I believe that the news about our forecasted real estate market is timely because consumers are recognizing that home sales are stabilizing. Sellers have adjusted their prices accordingly. We are in a buyers market now and it's a great time to invest in Wilmington real estate.

According to OFHEO the Wilmington Metropolitan statistical area (MSA) which includes New Hanover, Pender & Brunswick counties, ranked 16th in the country in annualized appreciation of 22.05%. The five year rate (2001-2006) was a very respectable 62.58%. This is a solid indication of how homes in our area have appreciated.

If you are looking to retire, invest or relocate, you've found just the right place to call home.

Wilmington is nestled between some of the most pristine beaches on the East Coast and the Cape Fear River. The region encompasses Wilmington, Historic Downtown, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and Wrightsville Beach. The area's many miles of coastline, rivers and sounds offer a wide variety of fishing, water sports, boating activities, and quite a few harbors, marinas and yacht clubs are available. Recreational opportunities abound in the area including golf courses that are playable year round. Wilmington offers mild climate and relatively inexpensive cost of living, which make it popular with retirees and second home vacationers.

The Cape Fear coast is rich in history and folklore and known for its natural beauty, nautical legacy and Southern hospitality.

Wilmington and the Cape Fear region has it all, whether you are looking for relocation, retirement, second homes, real estate investment opportunities, or development opportunities.

Real Estate Transfer Taxes Overlooked Sale or Purchase Expense

A real estate transfer tax is a one-time tax paid at the closing of a property, and is considered a stream of revenue for state budgets. This transfer tax though, once collected is not generally used for housing-related purposes. The tax is based on the value of a property as agreed to by the parties in a real estate contract.

In the excitement of selling or buying a home, often the real estate transfer tax cost is overlooked. Depending on locale, either the buyer or seller pays the tax at closing or escrow, but beware in New Hampshire both the buyer and seller pay, half of 1.5%!. In some states it can be a formidable amount, you should be prepared for what the transfer taxes will be, and who pays them, before you start a home search or list your home for-sale.

The good news is, thirteen states don't have a real estate property tax. They are: Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.

The bad news is that the remaining thirty-seven states and The District of Columbia charge taxes on the transfer of a property. The tax is only levied once when a property is exchanged between parties, unlike general property taxes which are paid annually and are based on the assessed value. Real estate transfer taxes range from a low of .01% in Colorado to a high of 1.28% in Washington state.

Variations on transfer taxes include; in Arizona only charges a tax on deeds. However Alabama and Florida charge on deeds and mortgages. To avoid financial surprises, inquire early as to who pays (buyer or seller) and how much transfer taxes will be. Some states dictate who pays the tax, and some just want the tax paid. This cost can typically be negotiated between the parties. Consult an experienced real estate attorney.

Covenants, Easements, Eminent Domain and Restrictions in Real Estate

Owning property and it's legislated bundle of legal rights can become complex when you aren't aware when your rights are being violated. Once a property survey is done, it might include easements and encroachments which might affect the value of your property. Or, if you're purchasing a home in a Homeowners Association (HOA), you will be presented with the covenants and restrictions, and most deeds carry covenants on animals and other non-residential uses, make sure you read them carefully. Eminent domain has been a hot topic in 2006, as the Federal Courts have ruled in a new direction that has wide implications for homeowners across the nation.

Covenants. Is an agreement contained in a deed or Homeowners Association to limit or deny certain uses such as barnyard animals, industrial noise or waste. In HOA's covenants can eliminate motor homes or dictate that garbage cans are hidden from view.

Easements. A right given and assigned to a specific third party to use land for a specific function. Most properties grant easements to utility companies for water, sewer, cable, power and telephone lines. You can also give a neighbor an easement for their driveway to run over your property if theirs is land-locked. Many resort subdivisions grant easements to lake front beaches to homeowners who do not have lake frontage.

Eminent Domain.The power of local, county, state or U.S. Government to condemn and purchase at current market value a property to be used for public use; such as a road, school or hospital. Recent rulings have changed this to include "the highest and best use" for a property, including purchasing a single-family home for re-development as condominiums.

Restrictions. Similar to covenants in that they restrict fence heights or the number of cars you can park overnight outside a garage, the number and type of pets in a HOA or the style and color of alterations to your home.

Real Estate and Your Retirement

Many people are looking for ways to increase their retirement income. For most of these individuals, their homes are the greatest asset. A large section of the aging population has failed to plan effectively in order to have sufficient savings at retirement. They now are looking to their real estate to supplement their retirement income.

Real estate values are very unpredictable, especially now with the decrease in the real estate bubble. Prices are falling in some cities and flattening in others. It will take some planning to get the most from selling your real estate to supplement your retirement.

Be Realistic. To plan effectively, you must be realistic about the price you may get for your home. Real estate is an up and down market, so you should assume a traditional real estate market for valuating your home, with gains in value equal to the inflation rate. At retirement, you will have the same purchasing power you currently have. If gains in real estate values are better than the inflation rate, then you will have more. Just don’t count on it.

Get the Most from Your Real Estate. People used to work hard to pay off their mortgages for homes they planned to raise their children in and retire. Since 1989, the number of people 65 and older with mortgage debt has nearly tripled, adjusting for inflation. Making payments on real estate in retirement years will deplete your savings and retirement income faster than any other expenditure.

There are three reasons to pay off your real estate mortgage — (1) decrease expenditures in your retirement years, (2) use the mortgage interest rate that you will save to increase your retirement savings, and (3) build more equity, in case you need it as income on which to live later. Paying off your mortgage is a good thing to do, regardless of what the real estate market is doing.

Downsize Your Home. If you are living in a home that is larger than what you need, do not hold on to it for sentimental reasons. Selling the larger home for a smaller one can: (1) give you a smaller mortgage payment than you currently have, or (2) purchase a smaller home outright with no mortgage. It also means less physical upkeep by you, as well as less maintenance and repair costs in the future during retirement. Please keep in mind that there will be selling, moving and new home renovation costs that must be deducted from the sale proceeds.

Sell the Extra Real Estate. If you have a second home or vacation real estate that will not be your retirement residence, you may wish to sell this extra real estate now, putting the sale proceeds into your retirement savings. You can put the mortgage and annual upkeep payments for this property into your retirement savings, too.

Reverse Mortgages. Though these products have been around for some time, we are hearing a lot about them lately. Such mortgages give you 50 percent or more of your home’s value with no mortgage payments, which are collected by the lender at your death or if you sell the real estate.

6 Tips To Buy Cheap Repossessed Homes At Government Auctions

Buying homes at foreclosures and auctions sponsored by the US national and several local governments is the in-thing when shopping for existing homes nowadays.

There are more and more people who are preferring to buy existing homes nowadays because constructing and investing to build homes would most often be troublesome considering the current labor costs and rising prices of raw materials.

Here are some useful, practical and logical tips that could help you get pull out cheap buys and deals when buying homes at US government-sponsored foreclosure and auctions.

1. Clearly define and set your preferences and style before going to the government foreclosure. This would save you the time and prevent you from wasting time looking out unnecessarily at homes, which at the first place would not meet your standards.

2. Inspect the home you are setting your eyes at and make it a thorough one. Check out for any defects or damages on the interior as well as the interiors. Check out for non-performing house furniture and old-aged amenities. Finding defects, be it small or major, could entitle you to huge discounts and mark downs.

3. Lodge a practical and low tender. Other bidders might bid higher, but you can still try to outbid them. Starting at cheap and low bids would make up for a great auction start, don’t you think?

4. Seek an expert or professional advice when buying repossessed homes at government foreclosure. Cheap homes can never be that cheap, or expensive ones must be priced cheaply, for all you know. Experts know best about the valuation of such homes.

Unraveling Real Estate Jargon

Homeowners have a seemingly insatiable appetite for information about the housing markets. "Are prices going up? How's the market? Is now a good time to sell?" they ask. Research reports and newspaper articles provide useful answers, but the information is usually buried in economic jargon. What is a "median price" anyway? What does "seasonally adjusted" mean? Does anyone understand "unsold inventory index?"

To help you follow the numbers, here are some helpful definitions:

Median price. An oft-cited indicator of the strength and direction of a housing market, a median price is the midpoint of all the prices of homes sold in a given area during a specified period. Midpoint means half the homes sold for higher prices and half the homes sold for lower prices. The median isn't the same as the average, which would be calculated by totaling all the prices and dividing by the number of prices. The median price can be affected over time by the characteristics and sizes of homes sold as well as price trends. For example, if the market shifts from starter homes to luxury mansions, the median price will increase even if homes are not appreciating in value.

Seasonally adjusted. Housing markets are naturally more active in the spring and summer months because people prefer to move during the longer warmer days and between school years. That pattern means it's difficult to make meaningful comparisons between results for different months or quarters of the same year. To overcome this hazard, economists statistically tweak the reported number of homes sold during various periods to reflect seasonal variations. The tweaked numbers are denoted as "seasonally adjusted."

Price discount. The "price discount" is the percentage difference between the seller's initial asking price and the actual purchase price of the same home. For example, if a home were priced at $200,000 and sold for $190,000, the discount would be 5 percent. Price discounts are usually reported as an average for a set of home sale transactions. A small percentage, on average, means the market favors sellers, while a large average discount signals a buyer's market. Unsold inventory index. This index, which indicates the pace of the market, is calculated by measuring how long it would take for all the homes currently on the market to be sold at the current rate of sales. A smaller index is a positive sign for sellers, while a higher number is good news for buyers.