The 12.85-acre Signature Pointe apartments on Lovers Lane are being marketed by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. asking price on it of $19 million

Empty Signature Pointe apartment complex for sale in Dallas is from Apartment Buildings For Sale

plan for 240 apartments and four single-family homes  Under the plan, residents of the four-story apartment building would enter from Norden Place in Norwalk article here

Hearing on new apartment complex draws fiery input is from Apartment Buildings For Sale

Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village apartment complexes in Manhattan is from Apartment Buildings For Sale

…for $5.4 billion. It was the largest single-property deal ever, but it was justified by rising real estate prices and a belief that the rent-controlled apartments could be converted into market-rate dwellings…

…Stuy Town and Peter Cooper Village, where a three-bedroom apartment can cost $3,700 a month, is hardly cheap. But that is much less than what the owners hoped to charge for for the spacious apartments with parquet floors.

…The court, in a 4-2 ruling, said that the developers can still hope for legislative relief to stave off financial crisis. But getting New York lawmakers to side against tenants in this case sounds like a joke. full apartment investment article

Revenge of the New York Apartment Renters is from Apartment Buildings For Sale

By: Real Estate Advisor

Now seems to be the best time to invest in properties in college towns where housing demand is high due to a soaring rental market according to the New rules of real estate by Business 2.0 Magazine. With home prices still out of home buyer’s range, and homeowners selling their

Apartment Buildings Buy Investment Real Estate In College Towns

homes due to rising interest rates, rents are expected to increase nationwide. This makes buying investment property in rental markets such as college towns an attractive option, one that is already being pursued by investors. Rents are expected to rise by 5 % by the end of this year according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), and investors are looking at college towns with increased interest.

There are two major reasons why it is prudent to buy investment property in college towns now. When compared with other rental markets, the rentals in apartment buildings in college towns are much stronger and hence more profitable. This has been augmented by the fact that apartment buildings in college towns are fewer in number. This demand for apartment buildings has also increased due to the rising admissions in colleges mostly from the Gen Y or the echo boomers, which has further increased the asking rates in the college town rental markets. These properties have a low vacancy rate, especially in buildings located near the campuses. Investors in commercial apartment buildings also get to increase their rent with the mounting demand making such investment a highly profitable venture.

So if you are a prospective landlord who has decided to encash this favorable situation, then you can start with choosing the college town that has the lowest ratio of university-owned beds to the student population. As Michael Zaransky, co-founder of Prime Property Investors in Chicago says, prospective investors would do well to pick the college towns that have the ratio of university-owned beds to students at 30 % or lower. One should also look into colleges that propose to expand their student ranks by 2 or 3 % every year.

Investors should also need to take into consideration the disadvantages involved in owning commercial apartment buildings in college towns. The business could be trying sometimes, and involves risks with college policies liable to changes and the difficulty involved in predicting volatile student demand. However, considering the high rate of returns that the investment has to offer, the pros seem to far outnumber the cons making buying investment property in college towns a smart option.

About the author: http://www.sdhomedatabase.com

Article Source: www.isnare.com

Apartment Buildings Buy Investment Real Estate In College Towns is from Apartment Buildings For Sale

The Basics Of Apartment Building Investing

By: Tony Seruga, Yolanda Seruga And Yolanda Bishop

If you are considering getting involved in commercial real estate investing, then there are a variety of individual markets that you may want to consider. Some of the different markets to consider include raw land, industrial warehouses, apartment buildings, office complexes, and many more. However, one excellent type of investing that you may want to give some consideration is apartment building investing. No doubt you will want to know a bit more about apartment building investing before you get started, so let’s take a closer look at the basics of real estate investment in apartment buildings. Why Choose to Invest in Apartment Buildings?

More than likely you are wondering why apartment building investing is such a great idea. Well, one of the main reasons to consider a real estate investment in this particular market is because they usually carry fairly low risk and they also help to keep up with inflation because they only deal in short term leases. So, as the market begins to rise, you can increase your income as well. Also, when you get involved in investing in apartments, you’ll find that you can enjoy equity appreciation as well as good cash flow. Many investors have found that investing in apartment buildings is a great choice because of the huge demand and the low risk. In fact, many statistics are showing a rise in demand for apartments, since so many people cannot afford to own their own home.

How Much Will I Need to Get Started?

Now that you understand why apartment building investing is such a great idea, you need to take a look at how you can get started when it comes to this type of real estate investment. Well, first of all, you are going to have the down payment available, which usually is about 30% of the total purchase amount of the apartment building. However, the amount of equity that you invest in an apartment can actually affect the investment returns and the risk that is associated with the apartments. So, for this reason, usually a larger down payment is a safer risk.
How Can I Qualify for a Loan for the Entire Purchase Amount?

Actually, it is the building that must qualify for the loan; however, you do have to provide the security to your lender as well. You will find that almost all lenders for apartment buildings will require that you guarantee the loan personally. However, usually they will not give you the loan unless they think the building will provide plenty of cash flow to cover the loan payments. So, when you are involved in apartment building investing, you’ll find that your lender actually has quite a bit to say about the amount of cash that you will need to invest in an apartment offering.

How Can I Manage My Investment

When it comes to managing your real estate investment, there are a variety of different ways that you can approach this. There are some investors involved in apartment building investing that take the time to manage their property on their own; however, others decide to hire managers for their property so they can concentrate on other things. If you have a building that has at least 20 units or more, usually it will actually support the cost of having a professional live in manager. However, if you have a building that has less than 10 units in it, it will be more cost effective to manage it yourself. So, if you go for larger buildings you’ll be more likely to be able to afford management. There are many professionals available out there to help you manage your apartments when you are involved in apartment building investing.

How Can I Analyze Possible Investments?

If you are planning on purchasing an apartment building as a real estate investment,

Basics Of Apartment Building Investing

then you first should take the time to look closely at the past couple of years’ history. Look at the expenses and the income for the past couple of years and also take the time to inspect the entire building as well. Even looking at the tenant files is a great idea as well when analyzing possible investments. This will help you see what you can expect to make in the next few years and also should help you determine the price that the property is really worth.

The Importance of Finding a Broker that is Qualified

If you plan on getting involved in apartment building investing, one of the best things that you can do is to find a broker that is qualified to help you out. Having a good broker that is qualified in the area of real estate investments that you are interested in can be a huge help. They can help you find properties that may be right for you and can also help you make sure that you are aware of the laws in your area as well. So, if you are serious about apartment building investing, having an experienced broker on your side is a great plus.

As you can see, there are many great benefits to getting involved in apartment building investing. However, you will have to do your part to make sure that you truly make money off of these investments. So, take advantage of these basics and use them to your advantage to maximize your profits.

About the author: Tony Seruga, Yolanda Seruga and Yolanda Bishop of http://www.maverickrei.com specialize in commercial and investment real estate. As of May, 2006, they and their partners are managing over $600 million dollars worth of new projects.

Article Source: www.isnare.com

Basics Of Apartment Building Investing is from Apartment Buildings For Sale

By: Marlon Baugh

Apartment Building Investment

With property values plummeting in areas such as Florida, more and more investors and turning their focus from single family housing to multifamily apartment buildings. In the past the main reason why investors choose apartment building is because they like the idea of having the tenants pay down the mortgage and pay the expenses of the property as they enjoy the benefits of real estate appreciation, and if purchased and financed correctly the owners can receive a monthly income similar to what most people make on a regular 9-5 job. Apartment building ownership is no longer suited for just the handy man type investor, as more management companies have become more competitive to handle the head aches associated with tenants for a fee of just 7 – 10 percent. Again it goes back to buying right, with the property financing and apartment ownership can be put on auto pilot.

Multifamily Investing allows for greater cash flow and minimizes risk as you have numerous tenants, when compared to investing in single family homes. This increase cash flow makes it possible to hire a management company and to cover other cost involved with owning a multifamily apartment building.

Even in today’s declining real estate markets such as Florida, multifamily apartment properties have proven to be one of real estates most stable investment vehicles. And as foreclosures continue to increase, people most find somewhere to live and although some may move back in with family, majority will turn to renting Apartments, which as a result will cause low vacancy rates for apartment building, I guess there is a silver lining in this sub prime mortgage meltdown after all. This will lead to a boom in the demand for rental multifamily apartment properties. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, when it comes to commercial properties, there as been a significant decline in the demand for loans on most commercial property types and minimal decline for apartment buildings.

With Multifamily apartment properties being a preferred property type for most government agencies such as Fannie Mae, makes financing readily available whether buying or refinancing an apartment building. Despite the recent credit turmoil, lenders are still offering 75 to 80 percent financing at attractive rates. As investors check out risk-tolerance levels and other issues involved in owning other commercial property types, multifamily apartment rental loan programs will more than likely prove to be more attractive.

Now if you are considering buying an apartment building, it is important to note what lenders are looking for from borrowers. They like borrowers that have established multifamily experience, managing tenants and usually at least a 680 credit score.

When it comes to the property, they like to see a debt service ratio of 1.20, which means that the property is able to cover the expenses on its own, without assistance from the borrower’s personal income. Also they don’t like properties that have a lot of deferred maintenance, delinquent rent payments and occupancy issues, as these are signs of poor management and as a result poor marketability of the property. This will raise concerns for the lender as now they will be concern with how the property will match up to competing apartment buildings in the rental market over the long haul.

Although there are lenders out there for the borrowers with lower scores or for a rehab type situation, you will find yourself in a short term and expensive loan with rates ranging from 12-18% and also a loan to value of 50-60%. These types of private loans are short term are mostly suited for the experienced investor that like to rehab and flip properties.

About the author: Marlon Baugh is a nationally-known mortgage expert. Since 2003, he has specialized in mortgage loans for people with Bankruptcies, Foreclosure or with other credit issues, as well as Commercial Mortgages. If you would like a Free Copy or to get instant access to the remainder of this Insider Commercial Mortgage Report, please visit http://www.specializedfinancialsolutions.com/commercial.htm or Call 954-678-5796

Article Source: www.isnare.com

Apartment Buildings – Stable Investment Vehicles is from Apartment Buildings For Sale

Increasing Your Profits On Your Apartment Buildings

By: Tony Seruga, Yolanda Seruga And Yolanda Bishop

Property management, like managing any other investment, is the key to success in residential renting. When you own one or more apartment buildings, your choices boil down to hiring a management company, or doing it yourself. As a new investor, or if you have a small number of properties (or just a single one) it’s probably best to do it yourself, and limit yourself to properties within a reasonable driving distance. This lets you focus on learning the job, and learning what actually needs to be done so you can evaluate property managers when your business grows.

Profits are income minus expenses. There are only two ways to really increase your profits – raise income or reduce expenses. We are assuming that you can keep your vacancy rate at about 3-5%, 7% tops. Higher than that means you need to sharpen your marketing skills to attract new tenants. Lower than 3% and your rents might be too low for your market.

When looking at your rents, check out the advertising for adjacent apartment complexes. Ideally, you want to be in the top 10% of rents within your neighborhood, as this will likely keep you in the 3-5% occupancy range. Likewise, to keep your occupancy rates high, take the time to make sure your model apartment is kept up. It’s surprising how many companies forget this simple step when marketing their apartments.

Here’s another hint – work out a deal with your local furniture rental vendor to display some of their old, but not shabby, stock in your display units, and rotate the furniture out every 6 to 9 months. If you’re near a college campus, the time to swap furniture sets out is mid July.

One positive side effect of higher rents is that they increase the value of your property, by increasing the cash flow that’s accrued as part of the total property valuation. If you’re going to raise rent, the time to do it is on an empty unit. If you have to raise rents on a currently occupied unit, the time to do it is on their lease anniversary; a small increase of $20 to $40 (no more than 10% of the total rent) tends to be absorbed by existing renters, who weigh the rent increase against the hassle of moving to a new unit.

It’s usually better to increase rents than trim costs, as cost trimming may result in tenant flight. If you’re looking to reduce costs, here are some things to consider.

Whenever getting any sort of work done worth more than the rent of a single unit, get competing bids. It may consume more of your time, but the savings is often worth it. When you’re installing a new system on the property (gates, alarms, pools), spend the extra cash now to reduce maintenance expenses in the long term. This, again, increases the value of your property. This also applies to getting insurance –always get competing quotes, preferably 60 to 90 days before your policy is due for renewal.

Never skimp on repairs. Every time a repair is delayed, it’s only going to cost you more, as the damage is pervasive. Obviously missed repairs or repairs that are botched will make your property less appealing when viewed by new customers, and may make existing customers leave. Always be proactive on repairs, as that’s the single largest factor degrading the value of your property. Also, make sure that any tenant pays for repairs that are distinctly their fault and their hazard.

Other things that can save you money – buy motion sensor lighting, or solar powered motion sensor lighting for your exterior areas to cut down on utility bills. For hallways and other places where you pay for electricity, get fluorescent bulbs. For areas where the lights are on all the time, like a parking garage, it may be worth it to invest in LED lights, and install a timer switch wherever possible.

Install water saving showerheads and faucets in your units; you’re probably paying the water bill. Any place where you’re paying for the heat, make sure you control the thermostat. It’s always better to let tenants pay for their own heat if possible.

Don’t be afraid to provide incentives, like giving tenants a break on rent if they’re police officers and willing to provide some security, or giving tenants a break on rent to do some generalized picking up or lawn mowing…and be sure to talk to other apartment complex owners in your area; they have a wealth of experience in this area you can tap into.

Once you’ve learned how to manage your own properties, you will have the experience to evaluate property management companies for your growing portfolio. You will also have the expertise to make sure they are managing your properties for maximum profits.

About the author: Anthony Seruga and Yolly Bishop of http://www.maverickrei.com specialize in commercial and investment real estate. As of May, 2006, they and their partners are managing over $600 million dollars worth of new projects.

Article Source: www.isnare.com

Apartment Building Investing Profits is from Apartment Buildings For Sale