If you are an investor looking to sell one or more of your real estate holdings, you might want to consider completing the sales transaction in the next year. At the end of 2010, tax cuts put in place by President Bush will be reset to standard income tax rates and you will lose your opportunity to take advantage of the lower rates.

As an investor looking to sell a house fast, you are most likely already familiar with capital gains taxes, but most home buyers are not. Therefore, the decision to buy houses in PA is not made because of the capital gains tax reductions that you, the seller, will get if the property sells before the end of 2010.

The current capital gains tax rate is actually a two-fold calculation. If you are selling a property for which you have claimed depreciation, then you must be aware of the total amount of the depreciation claimed. Many investment home buyers bought properties as part of a we buy houses type program and want to sell the house now. In that case, the capital gains tax rate will be 10%.

On the other hand, if you have claimed depreciation be aware that when you find a home buyer, you will be taxed at 25% for the amount that you claimed in depreciation when you sell your house now. The advantage of selling is still in your favor however, since the remaining sales revenue will be taxed at the lower 10% rate.

This advantage means that you will keep more of the profits when you sell your house now, instead of waiting until after the end of 2011. Whether you pay just the lower amount of capital gains tax, or you split the percentage rate, you will still likely earn more from the sale in the next year than at any point in the future.

The market is definitely leaning toward sellers right now, because there are many individual home buyers in Philadelphia and investors looking to buy houses in PA. They are looking for deals, and although the idea of selling at a lower price does not always seem appealing in comparison to waiting a year or so to sell, today it is not a bad idea to sell a house fast for a lower price. This is because even at a lower selling price, your property is going to bring you larges profits than if you wait a year and sell for a significantly higher price.

Keep this information in mind as you make decisions regarding your real estate investments, particularly if you are already planning to sell in the near future. There hasn’t been a better market for home buyers in years, and fortunately for the investor, prices are higher than they were over the last few years and there is a significant profit to be made by selling in the next year.

By: Joshua Weidman

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So, you bought a property in the past as an investment and now is the time to get out. What do you do? Many people don’t think this far into the future when the buy, so even though it is the time to get out of the deal they don’t know what to do next. It’s not as simple as saying you’re done, you need to find a seller for your commercial investment property.

The first thing you should do is get together all of the information that you have on your commercial investment property. This is all of the information that you can pass onto interested parties or a realtor that you believe will help the property sell in a reasonable amount of time. Put all of this information in one place so you can access it or pass it on with ease.

Next you need to get yourself a real estate agent who specializes in selling commercial properties. You want someone with a lot of experience because chances are they will have contacts who are looking to buy and they can match you up with someone that is looking for what you have to offer in your commercial investment property.

If you don’t want to bother with a real estate agent you can sell on your won. If you have contacts and you are sure that you can market your commercial investment property on your own, why not give it a go? You can save a lot of money in commissions when you go this route, but many people find that it is harder to sell their own property than they had thought it would be.

Get information about your commercial investment property out there. You want to market your building for the great investment that it is. This is where a realtor can help and so too can your investment contacts. The more people who hear about your building the sooner you will sell it, for the price that is right.

By: Fernando Gabbiera

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Kansieo.com

Do you need a real estate development business plan? You will if you want to obtain financing for your project. The first thing any lender or private investor will want to see is your real estate development business plan. This plan is specific for development of real estate. Your business plan will tell your story in an organized and concise manner. It will provide all of the critical information needed to judge your project. A well-written and professional looking business plan is crucial for your success in obtaining financing.

Most real estate developers make the mistake of not creating a good business plan or even getting professional assistance in developing their business plan. They will use the excuse of not having enough time or they can’t find the data. Don’t let that be your excuse! All a real estate development business plan really is, is the answers to a bunch of questions! You will learn what to include in your real estate development business plan.

Executive Summary

The Executive Summary should provide a complete overview of your project & company. This will include:

Brief description of the overall project. For example, develop a 4 star, 250 room luxury hotel in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Brief overview of the company – Is it a corporation, LLC, etc? Who are the owners and/or board members? Brief company history & experience level. Brief summary of the market & demand.How large is the market and at what stage of development is the market currently in? Brief summary of the competition and what separates you from them? Brief description of key Management team members. Key financials – total acquisition & construction costs, nature & use of funds, future revenue & expenses.

The Executive Summary should be brief and an outline to your overall business plan. Now lets take a look at the specifics in the real estate development business plan.

The Company

This part of the business plan should give full details about how and when the company was formed. It should indicate the legal structure of the company, as well as where it is licensed. A key piece of information about the company is the company owners. Name all of the principals and their percentage of ownership.

Project Description

This section of the plan is where you explain your project in detail. Remember, you are selling your project so that you can get the funding you need! Is this a hotel development project? Is this a luxury, single-family home community project? Is this a multi-tenant shopping center? Give all the details about the project. For instance, lets continue with our hotel example. You will want to name the other amenities that will be located at the hotel, such as swimming pool, tennis courts, the number of conference rooms, etc. How many of the rooms will be suites? What other features & benefits will your project have?

You will also want to address where you currently are in the project. Has the land been purchased or optioned? Where are you in the permitting process? Has the architecture plans been drawn? How much time & capital has been spent on your project to date?

The Market

In this section you will provide the market type & size, current & potential growth rate, and relative stage of development of the area. You should also address why you chose this particular area. You should discuss any forthcoming changes in the market, government regulations, economy, and short-term & long-term trends. If you have performed any feasibility studies, you will want to include it as well as the source of the feasibility study.

The Marketing Plan

The main objective of any developer is to sell the homes, the stores or the hotel. And this can only be accomplished with a well thought out marketing plan. Who will handle your sales efforts? Will they be in-house or out-sourced? How will the pricing/leasing/room rate be determined? Will there be any brand or strategic partnerships involved? What is your marketing budget (in a table format).

The Competition

Any lender or investor in your project will want to feel comfortable that you know who your major competitors are. They will want to know that you have done a thorough competitive analysis. Name and describe all key competitors. What are their strengths & weaknesses? How will your project compare? What are your projects strengths & weaknesses?

The Management Team

In this section, you will want to go into further detail about the principals involved. You will need to highlight the team’s relevant experience and previous successful projects?

Well what if this is your first project?

Then you want to make sure that you have an excellent support team in place. These team members should have the experience that you are lacking (team members doesn’t necessarily mean company ownership). These team members can be legal, accounting, construction, architecture, etc. So for this section of the real estate development business plan, you will want to include:

Resumes/biographies on all principals & management team members Organizational chart Board of Directors
The Financials

Since the primary objective of your business plan is to obtain financing, you will want to address what type of financing you are seeking and how much capital is needed. You will want to state how much money you have on hand (and where did you get it from) and how much money you have spent to date.

Everything that you have put into your real estate development business plan up to now should support your financial assumptions and projections. You will want to include a statement that shows a breakdown of construction and acquisition costs. You will want to include an Income statement that will outline income and expenses for the next five years after construction. It should follow GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and contain specific revenue & expense categories. You will want to include a Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Analysis.

Now that you know what to include in your real estate development business plan, make sure that your business plan presents itself in a professional manner.

Use a table of contents, with numbered pages. Make sure that the writing style is simple and conversational. Don’t use long or complex sentences. Paragraphs should be short & simple. Use graphics & pictures but don’t get carried away. Use charts & tables to back up your data. State all sources of your data and studies. Proofread your real estate development business plan for grammatical and spelling errors. Have someone else proofread it for you. If you have the resources, hire a professional business plan writer.

By: Patti Porter

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Kansieo.com

What is one of the best ways to approach taking control of your life? Many feel it is having your own business. To be clear, I am not advocating quitting your job tomorrow to start a new business as this would not be wise. You most likely would not be able to replace your current income right away. What I am suggesting however is “building” a Real Estate Investing business in your spare time, which is different than “starting” a business.

You see, starting a Real Estate Investing business implies that you will finish it or simply give up. When you build a Real Estate Investing business you are doing it the right way, at a pace you are comfortable with. Building conjures images of growth, and that is what you want. Right? So how do you build a Real Estate Investing business?

First you need to choose a Real Estate Investing vehicle or strategy that you can work in your spare time, without jeopardizing your current job. Ideally you would be able to begin building your Real Estate Investing business with very little money. You would not cause financial hardship to your family.

You would be able to use resources that you already have. You must have a product that is desirable and that you can build upon. The Real Estate Investing business has to have the ability to begin earning money quickly. There must be enough growth potential to eventually allow you to quit your job and regain control of your life.

I know this may sound like a pretty tall order, but remember we are talking about your financial future. Would you want anything less? You will have to steadily work towards your goals (you must set goals), and it requires a different way of thinking.

Change is not easy, but it is necessary. Are you currently living the life you have always dreamed of? If not, you need to change something. Remember, regardless of the economy, a Real Estate Investing Business is a perfect product people simply because people will always need a place to live.

By: Chris Parks

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