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By Art Gib

 Deciding how much to offer on Provo, Utah real estate can be difficult. There is a part of you that wants to get the property so badly that you are afraid to negotiate. However, there is that other part of you that realizes that you do not want to spend too much. How do you know how much to spend when purchasing real estate in Provo?

There are many factors that must be considered when it comes to price. When you find real estate in Provo, make sure to evaluate every factor to ensure that you are paying a fair price for the property.

How Long Has the House Been on the Market?

As much as sellers do not want to admit it, they are more willing to negotiate a lower price if their house has been on the market for a long time. Remember, just because a home as been on the Provo real estate market for a long time does not mean there is anything wrong with it. This is a buyers market and many home owners are having a difficult time selling their homes.

If a house has been on the market for an extended period of time, do not be afraid to place an offer below what the seller is asking. They will come back with a counter offer, but in the end you might be able to pay considerably less than the asking price for the home.

What are the Surrounding Property Values?

How much are the houses in the area worth? Just because one house has been gutted and redone does not necessarily mean it is worth more than the house next door. Provo, Utah real estate is valued in groups, which means that two houses that are side by side are going to have similar values. You cannot consider the individual price of a property without considering the neighboring properties as well.

Are You Going to Have to Make Improvements?

Occasionally, you will find a piece of Provo real estate that you are interested in, but you will have to make improvements on the property after you purchase it. When that is the case, it is important to make sure that the price reflects the work you are going to have to do.

Negotiate a lower price so you will have the money to make the improvements after the sale is final. By paying less, you will not be losing money on the repairs.

Never settle for the asking price when it comes to Provo real estate. Try to negotiate a price that is better for your budget and be sure to consider all of the factors that go into the price of a home. Make sure that you are not overpaying, and if you can, try to get a great deal.

Art Gib is a freelance writer for PayneSmootGroup.com (http://www.paynesmootgroup.com), a website featuring Provo Real Estate.

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Investing Full-Time is Overrated
By Alan Brymer

 At any rate, I’ve met a lot of investors who are itching to get to the point where they are making enough money in real estate that they can quit their 9 to 5 and invest full-time. This seems like the American Dream, but I will play Devil’s Advocate and be the one guy to point out the less glamorous side of investing full-time:

1) Living off your investments is not the same as retiring early. I’m all for retiring early, but real estate is an active investment. It has been described as a second job. It refer to it as running a business. It can be a very lucrative business, but for the most part it is going to require time and effort to stay on top of things. And in many ways, running a business is more stressful, with more responsibilities, risks, and obligations than having a job.

2) Say goodbye to any and all job benefits. Because I am self-employed, I had to pay cold hard cash each time we had a baby, about $5000-6000 each time, in addition to our regular monthly insurance premiums. What a joke! Our health insurance did not pay for a daggone thing. Meanwhile, my sister and everyone around me paid $25 here, $30 there for doctor’s office co-pays, and nothing more. The echoes of my grinding teeth can still be heard in distant parts of the earth.

Now, of course, if your business is making money hand over fist, you might think $5000 here and there is no big deal, but I can virtually guarantee that these kinds of bills will come due on a month when you’re running low on funds, waiting an eternity for some buyer to finally get qualified.

3) Are you doing what you love with your time? Are you going to invest full-time because you love investing, or because you want to make more money? If the answer is “more money,” I challenge you to be true to yourself, and find a way to make more money in real estate part-time, and do what you love most of the day.

If you work smart, you can make enough money in real estate in a few hours each week to supplement even a low-paying job, like teaching school. Remember, real estate is just a way to have more of what you want in life. So what do you want?

4) Real estate is a cash monster. Investing requires cash-and lots of it. It doesn’t have to be yours, but it still has to come from somewhere. Few investors who don’t have enough private funds available can resist the temptation to use their own cash to do a deal. This is the beginning of the end.

No one will lend you money to pay your own bills, or your team, or your advertising, and every investor I’ve seen who starts using his own funds eventually runs out-especially those who sell houses by doing lease/options. It is an industry where unexpected surprises come along that tie up or cost us thousands at a time ($5,000 to clean up after a tenant here, $5,000 reduction in price when selling in order to make the deal work there).

It makes sense for a lot of people to work for their own income and let their investments compound and grow on their own, untouched. If you’ve ever read Mark Haroldsen’s book Financial Genius, he tells a good story that emphasizes the shame that goes along with “dipping into your capital” for personal use. Whether you subscribe to that belief or not is up to you, but he does make a good point (unless of course you make many times more by working on real estate full-time).

5) How good are you at finding motivated sellers? How consistently have you been finding deals up until now? I have seen a few investors strike it big with one great deal, quit their jobs, and then fail to find more deals consistently and flounder as a result. This is why I’m not big on the Leave Your Doofus Boss in Only 90 Days philosophy. One or two deals does not a business owner make.

If I had a wife and kids to feed and were considering the jump from part-time to full-time, I’d make very certain that I’m 100% capable of finding at least one deal per month, having done it consistently for at least a year first.

6) Do you really have enough to do for 8 hours per day? Ron Legrand said once, “If you can’t make money part-time, you can’t make money full-time.” Working part-time forces you to stay sharp and manage your time well. You are forced to delegate, because there is just not enough time in the day to try to do it all yourself. You use your time wisely and do more deals in less time.

I have seen a lot of full-time investors get stuck doing things like fixing up houses themselves, driving around looking for junkers, etc, because they figure “I’ve got the time.” If that’s what you truly enjoy doing with your life, then great.

If not, may I suggest a third alternative: Invest in real estate part-time until you can run your business successfully in just 1-2 hours per day. Then, if you are determined to do it full-time, but are happy with the income your are already making, then do it full-time but continue to work on it for only 1-2 hours per day. What should you do with the rest of the day? Whatever the heck YOU want to do with your life.

Alan Brymer is has been a full-time investor since his first property at the age of 22, His investment company was named by the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum as one of the “Top 25 Companies Under Five Years Old.” Alan is also a frequent guest expert for the news media, having been featured on multiple television programs and magazines as a real estate expert. To read more of Alan’s articles and blog, go to www.AlanBrymer.com”>www.AlanBrymer.com.

Tips To Save Money When Building Your Own House In Phuket Thailand
By Scott Riefler

 With the costs rising this year higher than ever before, I like to share a few money saving tips when building your own house in Phuket, Thailand. You can use either some or all of these ideas to cut costs and spend your money on more important items. If it’s important to get the highest quality house for the lowest possible cost, this article is for you.

Buying building materials in Bangkok and shipping them to Phuket can be a real cost saver. You want to do your homework first on local prices and quality. Bangkok has a much bigger selection of tile than found on Phuket Island. There are huge areas that sell tiles in Bangkok and a much bigger and cheaper selection too. There are also huge outlets in Bangkok that sell Tile imports from China and Vietnam. Shopping at these outlets can save you big money over local outlets.

Wood Doors and frames can also be acquired in area of Bangkok around Bang Po. It’s great fun to shop these wood shops and look at the many different selections available. Wood comes in several grades so it’s important to actually see what you’re buying. Spending a day looking at the different wood items like wood trim and windows will also give you a few ideas also. There are also a few wood shops inside the infamous weekend market near Bang sue.

Power tools and things like sandpaper and drill bits, electrical wire, bulbs, and lights can be bought in an area called Klong Tom. This can be found in Bangkok’s China town area known as Yarrowat. If you ever been here this is the place where are the Chinese have their gold shops near the river in downtown. Sundays is used goods day so there are many extra vendors on the streets during the weekend. Collecting Business cards of the different vendors will come in handy later if you need to buy something they don’t sell at home pro when building your Phuket house.

You can purchase many landscaping items just outside Bangkok at a fraction of what you pay on island. The weekend market also has a large selection of plant, trees and other yard Items. Furniture can also be purchased at the weekend market as there are literally hundreds of furniture shops inside there.

Shipping to Phuket is a very easy thing to arrange with your vendors. If you have a lot of stock you can arrange for a 13 ton truck to bring down your truckload of goods. You can really save if you have something heavy to ship like granite, sandstone or tile. Medium size shipments you can use freight shipping companies which also use busses and some big lorry trucks to ship the goods overnight to Phuket. You can even pack the goods in the bus yourself and ride down with them you have time. Being creative In Thailand you too can save a lot of money if you have time and take the time to shop around and buy the items you handpicked to make your Phuket House a home.

Scott Riefler is an expert in Phuket Real Estate. He has written several informative articles. He regularly contributes articles on Phuket Apartments. Sign up for our free informative newsletter at: Phuket Condos

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