The island’s north side is the first place that comes to mind when looking for apartments in Hong Kong. It is certainly the most well known area with its famous skyline of buildings bearing the names of the world’s largest companies. Still today, between these architectural gems and business power centers, run old trams and until recently, even rickshaw drivers… throwbacks to a bygone era.

If your company has itself a sought after address on the north side of the Island, then the first place to look for an apartment in Hong Kong is among the many buildings on offer here.

If you’re traveling solo, or as a couple without kids, then a rental apartment in the area bounded by Sheung Wan, Causeway Bay and the Mid-Levels is a great place as you’ll have maximum convenience with public transport, work and nightlife all within easy reach.

To keep the budget under tighter control you could look at rental apartments further out from Central, to the west around Kennedy Town or east towards Chai Wan. Renting a Kennedy Town apartment will keep you within a short taxi or bus ride of Central, whereas a Chai Wan apartment is convenient to the eastern most stop on the MTR line. Both are still convenient, just with less Expatriates around- keep in mind that not all Hong Kong grocery stores are created equal.

As a couple with children, you’ll probably tend more toward apartment rentals in Mid-Levels and Happy Valley, depending on your size requirements and preferences. All still on the north side of Hong Kong island, only a little more Expat and family oriented.

Keep in mind though that some of the apartments in these areas will not have balconies, car parking or outdoor areas (top floor apartments may have roof access). You may have a gym included in the apartment building. Pets may or may not be allowed depending on the property owner or building regulations, and you’ll find the only places to exercise a larger dog being the walking trails up to the Peak.

Looking for space and the budget is not a factor? Then include The Peak in your search. Long famous as the most luxurious real estate in Hong Kong you will find many spacious villas and apartments in this area. Views, carparks, and all the trimmings you would expect from the most sought after location for Hong Kong apartments.

Once you have decided on a location or two, you need to know how the local market works. You will find this and other important information, including rental listings, available in our Hong Kong Apartments section. ExpatFlats also invites real estate agents and property owners looking for an easy way to market to the Expat community to test drive a free account at http://www.ExpatFlats.com



Repossession

So, you want to be repossessed? Here are my top 10 tips for getting your property repossessed. (and hopefully by doing the opposite, you can avoid it!)

1. Buy a house, any house. Don’t waste time worrying about how on earth you will pay for the thing or whether it is within your budget – as long as you can get the mortgage, just buy it!!

2. Next, apply for 5 or so credit cards, get the highest limit you can on each one. Don’t forget to get a nice picture on the front of it – a sad puppy maybe, or a sports car (you know, the kind you will never be able to afford once you have really got yourself into debt!)

3. Wait for the credit cards to arrive, and kit your new home out with luxury items which you don’t need. If you start to feel guilty, just tell yourself it makes the place feel more homely!

4. If you can’t pay the mortgage, use one of your credit cards, reassure yourself that there isn’t really a problem here, and something will come up which will miraculously fix the problem.

5. If you can’t pay the credit card bills, simply withdraw some cash out of the one credit card you still have credit on and pay the bills with that. Don’t forget to enjoy the bank charge for withdrawing the cash too!

6. Don’t cut the cards up, just use them to the max, baby!

7. Ignore all letters which look like that may be from lenders falling through your letter box. They will only want money, and you don’t have that. Find yourself a sandpit and bury your head in it!

8. If you really want to get repossessed, then make no attempt whatsoever to contact the creditors. This could put you in danger of working out a solution to the problem.

9. Pack your bags and wait for them to come and evict you. Scream like a wild animal as you are forced out of your own home.

10. Go and knock on your mum’s door with your tail between your legs and ask her to take you in. Congratulations! You have successfully been repossessed!

Alternatively!! (and much more desirable)

Learn to be good with money. Don’t live beyond your means. Take life one step at a time, there is no rush to buy a flashy expensive house in order to prove something to the world. Imagine how you will feel when that home is being repossessed. Living beyond your means will never lead to a life of luxury, only humiliation and a life of poverty being a slave to making debt repayments.

In all seriousness, if you have been repossessed, or are about to be repossessed, don’t despair. You are in control of your own life and you can pick yourself back up again. Treat this experience as a learning curve – as I did.

I actually believe that a little bit of poverty and hardship is a good foundation for making yourself make something of your life no matter what age you are or what your circumstances are. By having been there and got the t shirt, you actually learn to appreciate the true value of money and give yourself aspiration to improve your quality of living.

Although this article is entitled ‘10 surefire ways to get yourself into major debt and get your home repossessed!’ I am in no way recommending you seriously do this! I’m merely highlighting just how easy it is to get yourself into such a dire situation, and hopefully give you a warning if you are already half way down the list to take action now and turn your life around for good.

Build yourself some good major assets. Assets are not residential homes which you live in which cost you your hard earned cash every month. True assets give you cash each and every month just for being there – whether it be a low cost to set up, but highly successful website earning you income, an eBay shop which is truly running in profit or any other business which is really making you a profit every month. Experiment, and don’t take risks. Don’t spend money you don’t have – find an alternative (free) way to advertise for example. Make something of yourself and one day you truly will have the CASH to buy those luxuries which will be 100% owned outright by you.

No hiding when the phone rings, no more dreading the postman. Take action and take control. You only have one life – live it to the max in its true form, not on credit!

If you are facing repossession, an option you may consider is to take a step to avoid this by selling your property if you cannot afford it and using the equity you do have in it to pay off your debts to give yourself a fresh slate. If you have a pending repossession order, you may not have time to sell through an estate agent, in which case a cash property buyer may be a better alternative. The company I run specializes in helping people in situations such as this. Please take a look at my signature below for details.

Whatever happens with your life – make the most of it. Don’t be dragged down by credit cards and the like. Learn from the mistakes of people like me who have experienced it all at the tender age of 19 and have still pulled myself up from off the floor and pushed myself to make a success of my life. I hope my experience saves you the trouble and you don’t have to learn the hard way like I did!

Here’s to your future happiness, health and wealth!



Rent Back

At times you find it exigent to sell a property very quickly, almost in no time. Unavoidable circumstances like divorce or separation from your partner may drive you to such an emergency. The common chemistry that united you together is not matching any more. The moral maths of the moment demands a separation. To get over with the stress and strains you are undergoing, you need a quick sale of your property.

Or it may be that you are in need of cash in a flash. With a next to zero bank balance, you may turn to friends and relatives to avail that. You try every reliable source but in vain. So, you see no other alternative than to bank upon your property. But selling a property involves some documentation which, in turn, wastes lots of time. Sometimes it takes months to receive the cash. So, how can you ensure a quick sale of your property!

Well, the answer lies in the estate agents. Under any such circumstances when you need to sell your property quickly, they can provide you with valuable service. They will buy your home, sometimes directly from you. There will be no intervention of any third party. The hassle of documentation will be very less. Most importantly, you will have the cash in your hand very quickly.

Selling a property through estate agents is really smooth and easy. Whatever your circumstances may be, they will be ready to buy your property. You may need a quick sale for bizarre reasons. Apart from divorce, separation and financial difficulties, you may want to sell your property for some other reasons. Thus, you might be lagging behind with your mortgage repayment; so much so that you are heading towards property repossession.

Or you may be going to buy a new home and want to sell out the old one. It may even be the case of going abroad all on a sudden. In all the above circumstances what you need is a quick sale of your property to be in control of your schedule. Your singular effort will not be enough to meet such an emergency. So, the help of an estate agent is a must. They will buy the property instantly, sometimes even within twenty for hours and shell out the money on time.



Rent Back

Let’s talk about apartment locators versus apartment magazine publications. Are Apartment Locators really Free? The Answer is Yes Apartment locators in Texas are a Free Service. Apartment Locators get paid by by aparmtent communities out of their advertising budgets. It is much easier and more efficient for an apartment community to pay a Real Estate agent to bring them people than it is for them to use other advertising mediums etc.

Many apartment communties use paid advertisers such as the Apartment Guide, Apartments.com, etc as well. However the problem with these types of publications are plenty. For one these types of magazines are paid per subscription. Therefore will NOT speak with you about your Apartment search, cannot advise you professionally as to what you may want to look out for or what questions to ask the leasing agent when inquiring about their property. They simply want you to pick up their magazine and look at their out of date pricing info and go to as many apartment communities as possible and tell them that their magazine is what brought you in. Then the apartment guide or whoever’s sales people go into the office when it is time for them to renew and ask what percentage of their monthly traffic was there because of their magazine. Then at that point the publication’s sales people get the apartment communities to resubscribe with ease based on the percentage number of traffic created by their book.

The problem for the consumer with these types of publications is that A. The pricing info is usually months behind and inaccurate. B. They have no mention of any types of specials and in some cases void out more valuable specials that the apartment community may be offering hence why they offer typically a $300 rebate to their users. C. There is no advantage to a consumer to use one of these books to search for an apartment then just going out to look at them and driving around stopping at apartment communities without one. To find the right apartment you need detailed info on pricing and availability. These two factors in leasing change frequently.

Typically I will try and contact properties for a client as close to their move in date as possible in order to maintain the integrity of the info I get. As pricing and avaiability are subject to change at any time. But don’t get me wrong using an apartment locator can be the best experience of your life or the worst experience of your life. The biggest problems that clients have mentioned to me lately about their previous apartment locator experiences are as follows; I have had several; clients tell me lately that they have gone out with apartment locators who have tried to push $1200 apartments on them when they ask for $1000 options..?? This boggles my mind. I have no idea why anyone would do that other than trying to boost their own commisions. If someone starts showing you units outside your pricrange it should be clear at that point that there is a problem. Another problem that runs rampid with apartment locators in this city is the fact that there are so incredibly many of them and the fact that a large percentage of them are just people who were failing at life and decided to get their Real Estate Licenses. Many of these people have no intentions of doing this as a career and absolutely no idea what they are doing but are rather supplementing their time between classes as they go to school. Then effectivley the consumer ends up with a complete moron and usually ends up picking an apartment that is far from what their best option may have been.

When soliciting an apartment locator ask them how long they have been in the business or better yet ask them to estimate how many people they have leased in their time doing this. Anyone with less than 2 yrs experience simply is not going to be as efficient as one of us old timers. I have been in the business for a little over 8 years and have leased thousands of people. Another thing to look out for when choosing an apartment locator is the fact that 90% of the local firms are small mom and pop shops do not even have a searchable database in order to review your options. My company plugs your criteria into a database containing the most accurate pricing info in the city, and all of your options come up. Then I narrow those down to the most fitting and begin to contact them. Just because they are in your area, pricerange and you like them does not mean they have an apartment available for your timeframe. You have to call them.

Another problem with these small apartment locating companies is that many of them have a numbered amount of places that they can work with. This business is a contract based business. If you do not retain a Broker’s agreement with these properties in order to ensure payment then you have no reason to work with them. If that happens then for the consumer their options are limited to only places that pay their crappy apartment locating firm. Effectively they will only show you options out of the 40% of places that pay them and that may cut out alot of other places that would have been your options, immediatley. I know it’s not fair. But that’s the real deal. Our company works with 90% of the available properties for rent in the Austin Metro plex area. The other percentage would cover complete crap and/or private owner listings, rooms for rent etc. Apartment locators are not miracle workers although I have performed a few for some tough clients, and we do not set the market. We have nothing to do with pricing availability etc. We simply have the tools to analyze the market and hopefully the knowledge to find you the best place possible. If you would like more info on apartment options in the Austin Texas area or just more info in general regarding the leasing process or how apartment locators work then let us know we’d love to help you out. You can contact me (Austin Apartment Guy) @ http://www.austinapartmentguy.com/ anytime. Take care and good luck!!



Rent Back

The UK housing situation is considerably frantic at the moment, with reported house prices falling in succession. Is it the perfect time to invest in property and snap up a bargain or should we be selling quickly before prices fall further? This predicament will inevitably reap huge rewards for some, at the expense of others.

Whatever your take on the housing market quandary, buying and selling property online is an exciting alternative to the norm. Traditional estate agents simply cannot compete on price with specialist property websites gaining much more exposure at a fraction of the cost. Additionally many sites online have fixed fees, instead of costly percentage commissions charged by high street agents.

Buying anything online is considered by many as risky, especially second-hand items or items that you have not scene in the flesh. The thought of buying a house online then is therefore ludicrous, however this might have been the case a decade ago, but in 2008 this is a somewhat ignorant and naive attitude. The government is in fact helping reduce properties being sold without the buyers being informed of potentially costly problems, with the introduction of Home Information Packs.

Home Information Packs, known as HIPS, contains important information that buyers and sellers need to know. Properties marketed for sale from 14 December 2007 in England and Wales need a Home Information Pack. The benefit for sellers is primarily security. Providing a Pack upfront should reduce the likelihood of any nasty surprises in the selling process that could delay the sale, as buyers will be able to make more informed decisions about purchasing their home. The benefit for buyers is that the pack provides essential information about properties they are considering buying, free of charge.

Apart from the financial benefit of online property selling, another key benefit is the exposure your property will acquire. Traditional advertising methods involved for sale signs, posters in estate agent windows and listings in magazines, newspapers and publications. This seems very old fashioned and laborious compared to using the latest technology to market a property globally with a click of a button.

Computer wizardry enables buyers to log on anywhere in the world, find the right property for them based on their requirements, find out everything they needed to know about the house and its history, even how much the seller paid for it. The buyer can now even get a feel of the property with multimedia presentations showing it off to its full potential, including floors plans, 3d walkthroughs and even panoramic views inside!

In conclusion no one is sure what is going to happen to the property market in the future, but certainly if you are struggling with mortgage repayments and want a quick sale, the traditional estate agent approach probably wont be the quickest or cheapest option. Think outside the box, why not embrace the wonders of new technology and let the internet do the hard work, or alternatively why not sell your house and rent it back, eliminating costly mortgage repayments and not forcing you to leave your home!



Quick Property Sale

As the news stories about the woes of the property markets continue to pile up in the media, more people are tempted to put their homes on the market in the present climate to see if they are able to sell ‘at the top of the curve’ and take advantage of the capital gains they have made in the past years of the property bubble.

While experts disagree over the size of the market ‘correction’, or the length of any downturn in the market that is likely to take place over the next few months or even years, there is little doubt that more people will be in a position where they feel under pressure to sell their property as quickly as they can. The danger is that in putting your property up for sale you will be tempted into taking a much lower offer than you should, as well as the stress of dealing with demanding buyers.

On the other hand, being unrealistic about the value of your property, the motivation of your potential buyers, and the market conditions could lead to being stuck in a situation with a property that has been extensively marketed and still does not sell, despite discounts to the price.

Some of the situations you may encounter over this period of toughening market conditions are explored here, along with some possible strategies to help you sell your property at the right time and for the right value.

Be Objective - This is particularly important when you are selling your own home, rather than any kind of investment property, but it is vitally important that you are realistic and able to take the fact that agents or buyers may suggest you sell your property for less than you think it is worth.

This does not mean that you should just give in without a fight to the first offer that comes along, when you are convinced that the property is worth far more, but make sure your position is backed up with solid facts. In market conditions as they are at present, research in the local area is even more important, and can be the key to making your sale successful. Check estate agents’ windows regularly to see what at price similar properties are on the market, as well as how quickly they move.

Also, try to compare your property to other similar ones for sale in the same area, and be as objective as you can. Essentially, these similar properties are your competition for buyers, and you need to know where your property stands in relation to them. Think about things like proximity to schools, shops and leisure facilities on the positive side, and main roads, traffic black spots and industry on the negative.

Knowing all of this, and listing where your property is stronger than most of the other similar properties on the market at the time, will allow you to price your property effectively and realistically, as well as helping in its marketing. The knowledge that your property has the best gardens of the type, or has an extension as a utility room should allow you to bring out the advantages in the details as supplied by the agent, as well as helping you to sell the property when you are conducting viewings.

Aggressive buyers and tactics - One of the biggest problems with selling with the current turbulent market conditions is that buyers will feel they are in a true ‘buyer’s market’. This means they will feel emboldened by the prospect of being more sought-after than the property they are considering buying, a situation that has not occurred in the UK for example, in at least five years. Given this fact, buyers are taking up some practices that have not been seen by vendors for a few years - some of which are just a shift in the landscape and relationship between buyer and seller, other which are a degree more unsavoury or even immoral.

One of the biggest differences that sellers will notice in the current climate is the time factor. Buyers are now far less likely to be rushed into making an offer, or improving an existing offer as they will have the impression that you need them more than they need you. While this can be true, it pays to be prepared to wait for offers and responses to come in.

Of course, this is a legitimate buying tactic in the same way that in a rising market sellers are able to make buyers wait for their responses to try to make sure they would be prepared to move their offer upwards. Buyers will feel that by holding out on making their first or follow-up offer, they are sowing the seeds to make sure that you are ’softened-up’ for a lower offer than would otherwise be normal.

Be aware in this situation of the research you have done on the right price for your property, and be prepared to stick to your guns - but not too much. While it is quite fair to ask for a fair price in negotiation, if you are completely inflexible in the money stakes, you will scare off legitimate and fair buyers.

Once you have accepted an offer for the property, there are other things that buyers may now feel emboldened to do given the market conditions. For one thing, the agreements for fittings and fixtures may go on longer and be more intense that you might expect. Again, buyers will feel that they are in a stronger position to demand that some of the items you would have taken with you remain in place or are prepared to pay less than you want for them.

In this situation you would be well-advised to try to keep the two issues separate, while the buyer may be keen to suggest that unless you move on the fixtures and fittings the whole deal could fall apart. If they continue to be stubborn on this point, and you feel that they are close to pulling out of the sale, there may come a time to make a difficult choice. If you give in to their demands, can you be sure that this is the only issue on which they will be aggressive, or will it be a signal to them that they can push you into a corner in any of the negotiations? Would you prefer to keep this sale, no matter how much you have to smile through gritted teeth, or are you confident in finding a buyer? There is no blanket answer to this, and each situation can only be judged upon your feelings at the time.

One of the more worrying trends in recent weeks has been the idea of buyers gazundering sellers. Gazundering is a process by which buyers agree a sale price and put the wheels of the sale in motion, only to demand a hefty discount on the property price at a very late stage, often just days before completion. The discount demands can be anything up to 20 per cent off the agreed price, and sellers are left with the option of either giving in to the demands of their buyers or risking losing their sale, the house they want to buy and causing the rest of the chain to collapse.

Some websites are deliberately promoting gazundering as a legitimate bargaining tool in the house buying process, and even go so far as to say buyers should have offers accepted on three different properties to maximize the chances of one of their gazundering attempts being successful. Most people will see this as a morally-questionable way of entering into a sale, but be aware that there may be some people out there who are willing to try it.

Make the most of what you have - Many of the properties that are coming on to the market at the moment are quite similar - in some areas there are so many two-bedroom apartments for sale at the moment that sellers are dropping their prices by up to £100,000 (approx $200,000) in order to attract attention from a smaller pool of potential buyers than has been seen for some years.

In this situation, the best thing you can do is to make sure that you have maximized the features of your property that are going to attract buyers and make it stand out from all of the other properties of the same type they will have viewed already. If you have a huge kitchen, make sure it is clean and tidy but that people can see you enjoy spending time in there, if the garden is 30 yards longer then the neighbouring properties, make sure it is tidy, the lawn mowed and some colour and life are evident. You may even want to demonstrate the its lifestyle possibilities by putting out garden furniture to show how it can be used.

A recent survey also suggested that spending a small amount of money on refurbishing and remodeling parts of your property can not only get you back almost the same amount of money as the investment you put in, but will also help to make the property stand out to buyers. Purely on a monetary basis, it is said that a minor remodeling of the main bathroom in a property is the best way to spend on the interior of a property, with up to 100 per cent of the investment being made back on the property sale.

Making your property ready for viewings is also important. Some say that brewing fresh coffee or baking bread in the kitchen is the best way of making an impression on people viewing the property, but nothing will stick in their minds more than a well-presented, well cared-for home. The much-vaunted ‘kerb appeal’ factor is very important in creating the right first impression and setting the tone of the viewing. Pets and clutter should both be banished for the duration of the viewing, and if possible and necessary, you may want to send the children and partner to the park for an hour while people are viewing the property.

What you really want to create in a competitive market like we have at the present time is a lasting impression on potential buyers. If you can let each of your viewings leave with a sense that they want to be in your property, and can see themselves happy there, you have won half of the battle and will have a better chance of sticking in their minds.

Think differently - Don’t be afraid to do something a little different in marketing your property to the buyers that are out there. Remember that there are always people who are looking to buy property, even if there aren’t as many as there were, or as many as you might want to see. In fact, many buy-to-let investors are looking to expand their property portfolios now as they see it as a perfect time to buy the properties they want, as well as a time when there will be more people who have to rent instead of buying themselves and getting on the property ladder.

Some sellers will see this as the right time to look into selling their property on their own, and not using an estate agent. Certainly the fees that will be saved on any purchase are a welcome bonus, and perhaps that will allow you to be a little more flexible on your pricing than someone who also has to pay their agent a commission at the end. Selling without an agent is not something that should be tackled without careful thought and preparation however, as doing things wrong will waste time and money, and will ultimately make it difficult to sell the property later through an agent if the independent route fails. Many agents will be reluctant to take on a property that has been on the market independently in the recent past, as they will feel that it has been overexposed to the market, and their chances of success are therefore diminished.

Even if you are using a real estate agent to sell, you can still get creative with your own marketing strategy. There are some wild and interesting ideas of how you can bring attention to your property sale, from having bumper stickers made up and taking out advertisements in local papers on your own. One of the more targeted approaches works very well if your property is in the catchment area of a well-regarded school. Some sellers have been known to hand out flyers at the time when parents are arriving to collect their children, as they often know someone who wants to move to the area.

If your property is particularly attractive and stands out from the crowd, you may want to consider holding an open house for potential buyers to come along. This is a particularly good idea for desirable properties - it brings in interested parties to have a more leisurely look around the property and even to take a little more time to discuss finer points with you personally, and if you are lucky it will also mean that they will see other interested potential buyers arriving to look around and spur them into making a good offer.

Don’t panic! - Despite some of the media stories to the contrary, there are still properties that are being bought and sold across the country, so there are buyers out there. They may not have the huge and easily-accessible finance options that were available a year ago, and they may not be as willing to enter into a bidding war to get your property, but they are still out there. A well-presented, loved, realistically-priced property will sell, as there will be a buyer out there who wants it.

Try to be patient in waiting for viewings, offers and negotiations - not only will you find it stressful; you will also transmit a kind of desperation to the buyer that they can use to drive your price down.

It is also a good idea to have a set of limits and a back-up plan if the market turns out not to want to buy your property in the timeframe you have in mind. Set a lower limit for offers that you will accept, a time limit that you want to lave the property on the market. Should a sale not happen, or the price you are offered is too low, consider updating and improving the property you already have - either for you to continue to enjoy, or for a fresh assault on the market.

If you need to sell quickly - Should you get to the point where you need to sell your property quickly, there are a couple of options that should at least allow you to escape from a sticky financial situation. Sometimes these options are looked down on by many in the industry, and while they do offer opportunities to those involved to make money from buying your property cheaply, they can offer sellers a way out and still give them some equity to play with.

Auctioning property in the UK has not really taken off significantly, despite numerous efforts to promote it as a good way to buy property. Some properties are auctioned, and it is often repossessed or probate properties that make up the lots. This can be a good way to make sure that you achieve a reasonable sale, so long as you don’t put an unrealistic reserve price and are prepared to accept a slightly below market value price. If you are lucky enough to have two or more bidders who are keen to get hold of your property you may get a higher price than you imagine.

Another option is to go to one of the quick sale companies in the UK market, who offer a range on service to allow you to sell your home quickly and get your money out in a short space of time. Backed by the fact that they have cash reserves, these companies are able to offer cash within days to most sellers. They make their money from buying properties below the true market value, but that is the price you pay for being able to get your hands on a significant amount of capital in a short space of time. For people who are in more dire financial straits, these companies also offer ’sale and rent back’ schemes to allow them to get their capital out of the property and still have their home to live in.



Passive Income

Whether it’s your first or tenth time finding a place to rent, there are a laundry list of things you want to look for when it comes to finding a rental that not only indulges you but one that you don’t need to call maintenance staff because the sink is leaking every week.

Check all sources to make sure you don’t miss a dream apartment. - Most of the time when looking for rentals you might browse through the typical online classifieds like craigslist or look through online apartment search engines. The multiple listing service real estate agents use also has an inventory of available rentals that may not be advertised anywhere else.

Ask to talk with a current tenant of the building. - Leasing agents will give you plenty of information but at the end of the day it is still their job to help you into a rental in their building. Before arriving be sure to ask the leasing agent if they know of a tenant you could speak with about living in the building. If not just ask a tenant who is walking through the building what they think about it. Tenants are the best source of raw information on management and building maintenance.

Do they allow subleasing? - Things happen and if you think you may not be able to complete your full rental term (typically 12 months or more) then you’ll want to find a rental where the landlord/management company allow subleasing. Subleasing basically means that the landlord leases the home to you and you then lease the home to another person. It’s not too common anymore but it can be a saving grace if you need it so keep the possibility in mind.

Are there any major developments going up nearby? - It doesn’t get much worse than finding a gorgeous rental property with a panoramic view of the river and then five months into your lease you see a new tower developing right in front of your window that’s blocking your view. Find out about any new construction going on in the area before signing on the dotted line.

When was the building last renovated? - Unless the building you are considering is new construction you want to make sure that you aren’t renting an apartment in the early to mid stages of a full building renovation.

How safe is the area? - This might seem like an obvious one but take the full scope of safety into consideration: Will your car insurance be much higher because the the apartment building is in a high crime area? Will you be a prisoner in your own apartment after the sun goes down? Safety statistics can be found on numerous websites including the Census Bureau and City-Data.

Are there any ongoing incentives being offered? - In areas of high competition management companies will offer incentives to renters to choose their building over those of their competitors. Popular rental incentives include one to two months free, no pet deposit or free garage parking.

Thorough research will help you save a ton of money and get you into an apartment rental where you won’t be kicking yourself in six months because you’re miserable. While searching for the perfect apartment be sure to pick up local newspapers and check the paper classifieds. It’s becoming an antiquated approach now that online classifieds are beginning to dominate but you might find an amazing deal on a rental from a local landlord who won’t use online classifieds to market their rentals.



Quick Property Sale

Think of different means when you are in a situation where cash is ’short’ on your hands. There are many options you can avail of to get access to quick cash. None perhaps is as quick-serving as quick house sale. Selling your house is a way of liquidation of your assets.

Financial crisis brings with it its set of challenges. It can create a lacuna in your standard of living. Loans is one way out of it. This is a common means. At times, situations can be more desperate and urgent to be handled by loans alone. Quick house sale is then the right way to go about it. And the good thing is that there are special schemes devised for the same. These schemes ensure that you are able to overcome the hurdle of cash shortage as soon as possible.

It is true that although selling house is often the best way to gain quick access to cash, it is not easily done. It involves the usual paperwork which is, in fact, tedious. And apart from that, even if you hire a real estate agent, there are many time-consuming steps in between. Potential buyers come and have a look at your house, and somewhere along the way, your privacy is disturbed.

But with the quick house sale option, you are able to bypass those lengthy formalities. Furthermore, the special agencies that provide this special service also give you free advice to guide you through the entire process. You can visit the websites of these special service providers who can ensure that you are able to sell house fast with minimum of hassle, and that you get the deserving price for your property without having to negotiate much. The deal turns out to be easy in the end, with professionals committed to bringing you a quick sale.



Repossession

If you are looking for quick cash, you have the liberty to sell your home without having to leave it. This is possible through a sell and rent back strategy. You will be able to find this kind of arrangement through Looking4QuickhouseSale. This is an organization which provides fast cash for a condition property. If you are in dire need of money, you can choose to sell your home. If you do not have another place to live in, you can still reside within your house. By renting it, you won’t have to look for another rental unit. What is more, you will be able to bypass the expensive rents of apartment units.

When you choose to sell rent back, you are guaranteed satisfaction. This is due to the fact that you are selling your property to reliable investors. This quick cash strategy can provide you with various advantages. For one, the sale of your home will not go through an estate agent. This implies that you do not have to allot a budget for agent fees. Another advantage to this strategy is the chance to prevent home repossession. This is usually the case when you put up your house or property as collateral to secure your loan. On the other hand, you can also avoid foreclosure. The process of sell and rent back is not that complicated. You only need to apply online and the offers for your home will keep on coming in.

There are already plenty of residence owners who prefer to sell and rent back their homes. This is due to their belief that renting a house is better than actually keeping it. If they want to move out, they won’t have to deal with a lot of things before they can leave. What is more, paying for rent each month is relatively cheaper than settling monthly mortgage payments. Furthermore, renting will keep you from being too obligated with the repairs and maintenance of the house or the property. Since you are not the owner of the home anymore, its damages are not your responsibility. But you have to remember though, that you still need to tend to the property.

If you are a homeowner who is worried about the declining prices of properties, you might want to consider the strategy of sell rent back. When you decide to sell your home, you will be able to lock in the profits of your property’s recent values. Most of your profit that you have earned will not go to estate agents since you are assisted by an investor. You are selling your house because you are looking for quick cash; this implies that you won’t have to negotiate with an estate agent to look for possible buyers for you. You will be directly negotiating with an investor, allowing you to gain the maximum amount of your property.

If you want to avoid a tight financial situation, the best thing that you can do is to sell and rent back your home. This way, you won’t have to put your family in a position where living is quite difficult.



Repossession

This report is written for anyone interested in selling their property quickly.

Selling property can be one of the hardest and most stressful things you can do in your life. 90% of people sell through an estate agent so it must offer some advantages. So, should you do the same?

Well, it depends on time pressure you are under. When selling through an estate agent you will normally have to go through these stages:

1. You need to pay for and complete any renovation and refurbishment necessary (2-3 weeks)

2. You will need to conduct multiple viewings (4 to 8 weeks)

3. If your estate agent finds you a buyer, you will need to wait a few months for the buyer to arrange a mortgage (8 to 14 weeks)

4. If the buyer is in a chain, you will need to wait for their home to sell before yours can be purchase (2-3 weeks)

This can take between 4 to 7.5 months! That is a long time! It is a also a sad fact that 1 in 3 chains break down at the last moment due to buyers pulling out. It only takes one person to pull out and the whole chain falls apart.

How to sell in less than 4 months

However, even with these obstacles in mind it is still possible to sell your home in less than 4 months by these following tips (and having luck on your side):

1. Get a reliable, reputable agent.

2. Finish off any necessary DIY jobs

3. Thoroughly clean and de-clutter you home

4. Depersonalise your house and go neutral

It is worth remembering, “buyers are not looking to buy property. What they’re really looking to buy is a better life - property just happens to be the way they’ll get it”

The problems with Estate Agents

In response to many complaints about estate agents the Office of Fair trading conducted a study and found serious concerns over the way estate agents serve the public.The consumer group Which? has also conducted research and found evidence of serious violations of the law and a massive 50% of consumers voicing dissatisfaction over the service received from their estate agent. They said:

“Consumers entering the home-buying or selling process are substantially disadvantaged by the way estate agents currently operate”

Now, in fairness there are some great estate agents out there but they seem to be hard to find. Will you be lucky enough to uncover a good agent? Are you prepared to pay 1.5 - 2.5% +VAT (i.e. the price of a new kitchen) to find out?

So what it the alternative??

One of the more popular alternatives if you need a quick sale is using a specialist home buying company to help you. They can purchase your property directly from you with out the need to go through an estate agent.

Selling Fast to Cash Buyers & “Sell and Rent Back” Specialists

First things first, it is important that you understand that using a specialist property buying company should only be considered if your need for a quick sale is greater than your need to sell for the best price.

Typically you find yourself in need of house buying specialist if:

1. You are in financial difficulties

2. You are being threatened with repossession

3. You would like to sell your property & rent it back

4. Your chain has collapsed and you’re totally desperate to sell

5. You need money quickly and remortgaging is not an option

6. Bereavement or divorce means you need to move-on as quickly as possible

7. You’ve inherited property that you want to cash-in quickly

8. You’re emigrating and your property is proving difficult to sell

How Quickly Can Quick Cash Buyers Act?

Exchange of contracts can take anywhere between a few days and 3- 4 weeks. Completion can then be fixed to suit you but the norm is completion within 3-4 weeks.

How Much Can You Expect to Sell for?

Anywhere between 75-85% of your properties open market value (80% is the average). Open market value is the price a property would sell on the open market within 3 months. This is typically less than the price estate agents advertise properties at as they expect to make offers.

So, the main service home buyer service can offer you is speed and a guaranteed sale.

Certainty and speed are rare commodities when selling property. For this service you have to be willing to sell at a discount. That is why they will buy your property between 75%-85% if its market value.

What other benefits can these companies provide?

A good company will offer to:

1. Pay your legal fees (up to GBP 500 which normally covers

them all)

2. Pay any survey and valuation fees

3. Allow you to stay in the property after selling (rent back)

4. Meet their promises on price and completion date

5. Adhere to some Code of Practice from a recognized body such as the National Association of Sale and Rent Back (NASRB).

A Word of Warning!

Beware of any company that does not offer the benefits above. Some companies charge for valuation fees regardless whether they buy the property or not. Also beware of companies that string you along and then reduce their offer at the last minute when you are at your most desperate.



Sell House Quick