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Investing Tips For Beginners

admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:02:33 +0000

Investment tips are very important to consider especially for beginners. This is a way of guiding what to do or what kind of investment to choose. With the right basic foundation of knowledge, a beginner can build from there towards a deeper understanding of how to invest and what types of investments they might be interested in, and most importantly how to make the most out of their money.

Most forms of investing involve some form of monetary risk. That being said, it’s important that you invest only the amount that will not hurt you too much if you end up loosing it. It is necessary that you think positively but not to the extent that you assume that after your first investment, you’ll be rich in an instant. That is one of the many mentalities that people have when it comes to investing. Investments can either be risky or risk-free. Greater risk of losses tends to mean greater possibilities of greater gains. The risks and possibilities go hand in hand in risky investments like stock investment. People prefer to invest on stocks because it can give much higher returns compared to other investments. However, if you can’t handle losses, it is best to go with a less risky form of investment, or a risk-free investment vehicle.

Stock investment is just one of so many kinds of investments that you can choose from. You can also invest in businesses outside of the stock market, foreign currencies on the Forex, real estate, annuity payments, and many other things. Whatever investment you prefer, conducting research and gathering information from reliable sources would be of great help; this is called due diligence. It is a must to remember that you have to experience the ups and downs of investing for you to completely understand how it works and learn the perfect strategies so you can advance in your investing abilities, and reduce future losses.

Virtual Investing For Beginners

admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:25:16 +0000

People mostly carry out their businesses via the Internet to promote their products, properties, and the like. Access to different online information systems breeds a new world of real estate investing, thus motivating a slew of real property investors participating in the virtual investing enterprise. If you are longing to have a go in the virtual real estate field, this is a fine time since property pricing is being greatly reduced. This is what makes virtual investing a good idea.

Virtual real estate investing can be defined as the idea of buying and selling real estate properties through the use of the Internet. The idea centers on using online techniques to search for on sale properties and which properties can be purchased and then trading them off to a different investor for a considerable amount of profit. Take into account that the investors that you vend your property to may either directly buy the property with the plan in holding it in the meantime, or they might be purchasing it to resell it themselves.

Nowadays, more and more people are virtual investing. Through this approach, people can deal more than just stocks as financial options, and online purchases can be operated through virtual investing. Likewise, investors are now learning the ropes of virtually bargaining real estate properties utilizing online marketing strategies. People can definitely manage this kind of endeavor regardless what they are promoting and trading or how much familiarity they have in purchasing and selling various types of properties such as land, residential family homes, and commercial and luxury properties.

Sometimes, it does not matter about what type of property it is, rather, it involves finding a great real estate deal and then trading it off for a reasonable profit to the buyer yearning for a good price. There are several online sources to assist you with virtual real estate investing so you can start practicing your negotiation skills. You can rummage around for both local and foreign properties on the Internet and get some online support from most investment specialists.

Virtual real estate investing is also an excellent way to pour in some income from your own home office. There are loads of useful information for beginners, virtual investment tips for the experts, and online help for you to boost your own investments. Being more virtual allows you to control your finances and investments all in your own accord. An ambitious virtual real estate investor can twist this prospect into a full-time career.

Many investors depend on online social channels to facilitate in managing their own investments. For real estate investors who are used to face-to-face conferences, virtual investing does not appear any different. Only with the exception that virtual investors engage purely in online transactions to scour for the latest property listings and then take it from there. In fact, whatever your level of experience is, whether you are a beginner just starting out on this kind of virtual investing venture or you are an authority in this type of business, you will need to stay educated with the up-and-coming marketing and investment trends.

Tax Lien Investing – 5 Ways to Make a Killer Profit

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:27:19 +0000

Most people who are familiar with real estate investing are not familiar with tax liens. There are few books written on the subject and very few of the real estate guru’s espouse investing in them. Even so this is one strategy that should not be overlooked if you want to make a profit investing in real estate. Here are 5 ways to make a killer profit with tax liens.

High Rate of Return

Tax liens are sold by county governments as a way to raise money when property taxes are not paid. The state sets the maximum interest rate that can be charged on a lien. In my home state of Georgia this is 18%. If you purchase a lien, either the homeowner or the bank will pay you plus the guaranteed 18% interest rate. There are few investments that can guarantee such a high rate of return.

Safer Than the Government

Government bonds have a reputation as being a very safe investment because they are backed by the assurance of the United States Government. Tax liens may be even safer than the government bonds because you are guaranteed to either be paid back with interest or be given a brand new home.

Cheapest Way to Purchase a Property

The county government will sell a tax lien on a property when the property taxes have not been paid. This places a lien on the property that is senior to any mortgages. If the tax lien is not paid by the homeowner or the bank within a specified period of time, you can foreclose on the house. This is one way to purchase a property for the amount of the outstanding property taxes.

No Tenants

By investing in tax liens you can get a high rate of return on your investment without having to deal with tenants. Landlords rue the day that they purchased a rental property because of the late night calls to fix leaking toilets. The landlord is required to fix repairs in exchange for collecting rent. With tax liens there is no work involved after your initial purchase. You just sit back and wait for the homeowner or the bank to send you a check.

Low Capital Requirements

If you purchase a $100,000 home as a long-term rental property, you would be required to put 20% down or $20,000. On this same home the property tax could be only $2,000 per year. If you purchase the tax lien you would need to only put down $2,000. Tax liens have one of the lowest initial capital outlays of any form of real estate investing.

Tax liens are the unheralded swan song in real estate investing. It is a great way to make a quick profit while requiring very little cash to get started.

Serious Tips on Investing For Beginners

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:47:57 +0000

Handing your money over to someone that says they can make more with it is a bit frightening for some people. This money is something that was worked hard for and deserves to be treated with respect and used to make more money rather than just sit there. Investing for beginners can be a challenge but is also very rewarding when one sees their money grow and work for them as hard as they did to earn it.

There are many tools available online to get the novice investor started on the road to making money with their funds. The websites are dedicated to tracking and trending the best investments in stocks, mutual funds and real estate. The tools they provide can even allow a new investor to create a “test” portfolio of investments that can be tracked without ever actually investing money.

These portfolios can show an investor how their choices would have done without any risk to their hard earned cash. Once a beginner decides that they have made the correct selections, they can then choose to actually invest and begin to make money. Low risk investments are probably the best place for the novice to start, particularly if they are making their own choices as far as investment options go.

If the beginner feels the need to go with a slightly higher risk start to investing, they may wish to consult with a broker or seasoned investor on where to start. The first piece of advice they are likely to get from anyone is to diversify and not risk it all in one area. This is sound advice and followed by all investors of any experience level and success rate.

Diversification not only helps to protect the initial investment, but also allows them to explore other areas of investing they may not have chosen otherwise. This also ensures that all funds will not be lost should a particular sector take a loss for the day or week in the market. Mutual funds are a great way for the beginning investor to get their feet wet in multiple areas.

Investing for beginners should be approached with caution and after some research in the types of investments available and their overall performance. There are many places to go for good advice on where to invest money and why those selections will be safer than others. Each investment opportunity should be researched thoroughly before any funds are actually put towards them.

Primer to Tax Lien Investing

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 22:02:29 +0000

Plenty of time is needed to learn the beginning steps of tax lien investing, let alone real estate investing. But, if you take your time to learn then you will be granted the riches you need through one of the most safe, prevalent, and gratifying investment opportunities out there: tax lien investing. If you master one area of real estate investing (tax lien investing), then know that there are still many more avenues that you can employ in your trip to create multiple streams of income.

But before you explain how to start using tax liens and/or tax deeds as a path for real estate investing, let’s find out exactly what tax liens are. Several forms of government (local, county, or state) use taxation as a way to receive revenue used to finance their operations. One of these forms of taxations is called property tax. In short, the government charges a fee to the owner of a property. The fee is based on an amount determined by the local government.

This taxes, are used to finance the local government (typically the county). But what if the property owner cannot pay the tax, for any reason? The government puts a lien on the property for the amount of defaulted tax amount, hence the term ‘tax lien’. In other words, the property will not be sold until the government is paid what it is owed, and this amount is recorded by using the tax lien certificate.

However, a tax lien certificate is not a source of revenue, and therefore no money goes to the government after placing the tax lien. So how does the government get the money that it requires to give to all of it’s voters the superb service we have come to associate with government workers? The local government sells the tax lien or tax deed.

In case you weren’t paying attention, this happens to be where we take our first step into tax lien investing: obtaining the tax lien. When you invest in the tax lien, the government gets paid instantly Financial budgets are met and the government is ecstatic. However, we have traded your hard earned money for a document in hopes that investing in the tax lien will earn you a handsome return. Before we learn why you would want to buy one of these documents, let’s talk little more about how you would get one.

Several people don’t even learn that tax lien investing exists, let alone how to locate a tax lien certificate or even buy one. So think of all the other would be tax lien investing advocates out there as rough competition. Regardless of what most ‘gurus’ will teach you, these tax liens are very desired and sought, so keep your tax lien investing methods to yourself!

What is it the tax lien investors know? These investors recognize that there are many counties that use tax liens or tax deeds. Every one of these counties have their own government, and each of these governments does things a a little differently than the others. Begin by examining the different counties in the country using naco.org

I recommend you begin with tax lien investing if you have a small amount of funding and, like me, would like a stable ROI for your money. Doing this will also limit the locations in which you can buy, and thus let you focus your research.

But, if you would like to purchase real estate property cheaply, then tax deeds are a stronger pursuit. In any case, as you familiarity with one you can and will begin learning about the other and eventually do both.

Let’s return to buying the first part of tax lien investing, the tax lien itself. To begin, we’re going to need to create a plan of action. Here is one that I recommend:

Contact the local tax collector (or treasurer) and find out when the next tax sale will be. After you find this out, you will need to find out where the sale will take place and plan to be there. Then, create a list of tax liens that are going to be sold by getting a list from the office (if available) or searching the local newspaper that lists government announcements and sales.

We should now have a list of future tax liens, where and when they will be sold. However, you’re only part way there. We need to find the rules of the sale for the tax liens. This can, again, be located by talking to the local tax collector (treasurer).

Now you will need to find out what the interest rate for the tax lien will be and how it was determined.

Once you have obtained all of this information, you can then get the answer to the juiciest question of them all. Are there any unsold tax liens? If the answer is yes, then start there!!

Typically you will get a ‘yes’ to the last question and you will then get a list of the unsold tax liens and look it over eagerly. Some say that there are counties with many more certificates than available investor reserves. How simple would this be for you if you’re wanting to begin tax lien investing?

What if the list is not existent? Typically other departments maintain the list and you can be pointed in that direction instead. Regardless, if a list exists at all, find it. It will be the simplest cash you will get from most real estate investing strategies.

Try contacting several counties and obtaining the answers to all of these questions. A lot of them will be similar and several of them will be different. Yet you will start to learn this side of the real estate investing industry, namely: tax lien investing.

You will probably find several counties with zero unsold tax lien certificates before you find one that has a list. But when you do locate this gold mine, hold on to it and watch your money grow.

Tax Lien Investing: Profit from Selling Your Tax Lien Certificates

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 14:51:10 +0000

recently did my first tax lien assignment. I “assigned” or sold one of my tax lien certificates to another investor. This was a tax lien that I though I was going to lose money on. Why was I especially the investors that see repeatedly at tax sales and have more experience than I doworried about losing money on this tax lien? Let’s just say that I purchased this tax lien certificate early in my tax lien investing career and did not do the proper due diligence. I had made three critical mistakes when I purchased this lien and afterward. My first error was in purchasing a tax lien certificate on a property that I did not look at myself. I relied on the word of another tax lien investor, someone who was bidding for a large company and is actually my competition. My second mistake, since this was a vacant lot, was not checking the zoning. The lot turned out to be undersized thus unbuildable. My third mistake was in paying the subsequent taxes for almost 2 years before I checked the zoning.

By the time I had realized my errors, the redemption period was almost over and it was time to foreclose on the property. I did not want to start foreclosure because I didn’t think that there was anything I could do with the property, and did not know if I would be able to sell it. I tried to sell this lien to other investors packaged with a couple of good liens, but no one was interested. So how did I find a buyer for this tax lien and make over 40% on my investment?

When I attend tax sales I like to meet other investors and get to know them, . I happened to find out that one of the investors who I often saw at these sales used to be a builder and he specialized in undersized lots. He knew how to apply and obtain variances on undersized building lots. I told him about the lien that I was looking to assign. I sent him all of the information about my tax lien certificate with a report of what I had paid in subsequent taxes and what the lien would redeem for. He took a look at the lot and determined that it was a good lot that he could do something with. He paid me the redemption amount of the lien and I assigned my tax lien certificate over to him. I gave him the certificate and signed an assignment contract. Since the tax lien certificate and subsequent taxes paid were at 18% per annum interest, and I had held the lien for more than two years, I received over 40% profit on my investment. I was happy to sell him the lien and get the interest and he was happy to have a tax lien certificate that was ready to foreclose on a property that he thought he would eventually be able to get a variance on and build on.

If you have tax lien certificates that are ready to foreclose, and you don’t want to go through the trouble of foreclosing on them, you may want to consider assigning them to another investor. Tax liens are hot right now; there is a lot of interest in them and it is usually easy to find a buyer for your lien. Not all states allow the assignment of a tax lien from one investor to another, however, so check with the laws in your state first. Assigning your tax lien certificates to another investor is one way that you can reap the rewards of tax lien investing without ever having to foreclose on a lien or own and manage the property. As always, make sure to do your due diligence and you’ll have no problem finding a buyer for your tax lien.

Tax Lien Investing FAQs

admin — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 06:03:28 +0000

Recently I sent an e-mail out to my subscribers asking them some questions. I wanted to find out what it is that most people want to know about tax lien investing. I got a lot of good questions and I won’t be able to answer them all in this article, but I want to try to answer those that were asked most often and that weren’t answered in my new free video course.

I especially like to answer questions that start out with the words “How do I…” or “How can I…” This type of question shows me that someone is really interested and is ready to take action. So let’s answer some of these types of questions that are not answered in my video series. So here are some frequently asked questions about tax lien investing.

Q1: How can I buy tax liens or tax deeds without going to the auction?

A: In most states you have to attend the auction in order to bid, or have a representative there to bid on your behalf. But there are 2 ways that you can purchase a tax lien or deed without physically going to the sale. A few states do have online auctions, but not all counties in these states conduct their auctions online. Usually just the larger counties do. Many counties in Florida, California, and Arizona have online tax sales. And I know that some counties in Colorado and Illinois have online tax sales as well. Another way that investors have bought tax lien and tax deeds without going to the sale is to bid on left-over liens, this can usually be done through the mail. The only problem is that as tax lien and tax deed investing become more popular, there are less and less good properties left-over after the tax sale.

Q2: I don’t live in the US; can I still invest in Tax Liens or Tax Deeds?

A: Yes, in most states you can invest in tax liens and tax deeds even if you are not a US citizen and do not live in the US. There are a couple of states that you have to be a resident of the state to invest, but these are not the most popular tax lien states and they don’t have online sales. All you have to do in order to purchase a tax lien is to fill out a tax form called a W-8BEN form. In order to complete this form you will also need to apply for an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) if you are bidding in your own name. If you are bidding using a business name, you must apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN). This is only for tax liens. You do not have to do this to participate in a tax deed sale.

Q3: So how much money do you need to get started with tax lien investing?

A: The beauty of tax lien investing as opposed to tax deed investing and other types of real estate investing, you can start with a very small investment. The first very profitable tax lien that I purchased started with an initial investment of only a couple of hundred dollars, on a small sewer lien. Then I was able to pay the subsequent sewer taxes the next couple of years and instead of trying to foreclose I just kept paying the subsequent taxes. After a couple of years, the homeowner moved out of state and stopped paying the taxes on the property, so then I got to pay even bigger payments $5000 over the next couple of years. The lien finally redeemed and I collected 18% per annum on most of my investment plus penalties.

Q4: How often do you acquire the property with tax liens?

A: In the state of NJ where I invest, very, very seldom do you get to foreclose on the property. If you are interested in owning property than tax deed investing or redeemable tax deed investing is the way to go. Only about 1% of tax liens will not redeem and of those properties, once you start the foreclosure process about 80% will redeem sometime during the foreclosure process. I’ve been investing for about 6 or seven years and I haven’t foreclosed on a property yet. I do have a couple of liens that I could start foreclosure on right now, but I know that when I do, they will redeem, so I just let them go.

I know some investors who have foreclosed on a couple of properties, but either it is not recent – we’re talking a few years ago when property values were not what they are today and it was much harder to get a loan, or they have a really huge portfolio with thousands of liens.

Q6: Are there risks involved in this type of investing? What are they?

A: Yes, there are risks involved and that’s what the gurus leave out, they make it sound so easy. They like to use the term “Government Guaranteed” to make people think that they can’t go wrong with tax lien investing, that the government guarantees that they’ll get paid on a tax lien. That’s really not true, what they mean by “government Guaranteed” is that there are laws that protect the investor but you not guaranteed to get paid. The guarantee is the property. Tax Liens are guaranteed by the property that you have a lien on, so if you buy a tax lien on a worthless piece of property, then you made a poor investment and it is possible that you could lose your money. Yes, there is risk involved, but that risk is minimized by doing your due diligence on the property before you purchase the lien, just like you would do due diligence on property before giving someone a loan against it. If you do your due diligence properly than tax lien investing is a very safe investment because it’s secured by something tangible, not just a piece of paper.

One of the things that I do in my courses, John, is teach people how to do due diligence for tax sale properties so that they can totally reduce the risk involved with tax lien investing.

Q7: Can you invest in tax liens and tax deeds in your IRA?

A: We all want to keep more of those profits for ourselves and not give half of it away to Uncle Sam. The good news is that you can use money in your IRA or Roth IRA to invest in tax lien certificates or tax deeds, but only if it’s a true self-directed IRA. With a self-directed IRA, your profits can grow tax-differed, and with a Roth IRA, your profits can be totally tax-free.
In my courses I have 2 audios from different experts from 2 different self-directed IRA companies that explain how to do this.

Florida Tax Lien Investing

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:09:36 +0000

So what are these so-called liens that people get placed on their property? A tax lien is a legal claim against a property due to the nonpayment of taxes. The lien holder receives his/her investment back plus interest when the debt is settled by the property being sold or by the owner paying the debt. Tax lien investing assures the individual that the capital invested is profitable no matter what the end outcome is for the owner of the property.

Florida happens to be one of the largest and most dominant states for tax sale investing. With over 67 counties, this state allows a two year redemption period on your investment with an annual yield up to 18%. While every state has different laws regarding tax lien investing, Florida is a prime state for its laid back regulations and high return regarding this type of investment.

The “Sunshine State” has year round tax sales and tax deed sales in most of its 67 counties. Florida even allows over-the-counter tax lien purchases. If you are an investor and cannot attend an auction, you have the ability to by a lien over-the-counter. While there are auctions for these liens in each county monthly, some liens are not sold and may be bought after the auction date. So if flipping a home sounds like too much work and you like the sound of a long term lien investment, go check out your county’s current tax liens so you can start investing your money in a risk-free and high yield method.

Have a Plan Before Investing

admin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:45:15 +0000

Since there are risks in investing in most cases, you need to have an investment strategy prepared before you get your money to work for you. It is like a game where you won’t know the outcome for sure until it has been decided and most of the time you need a winning strategy. Much like in investing, you will need a winning strategy to be successful.

Having a plan on how to invest your money in various investment vehicles serves as your strategy. You investment strategy will help you achieve your financial goal in time. You must choose from a number of investments from different investment vehicles. The stock market has as one of those investment types have numerous type of stocks from various companies which you can choose to put your money in.

It can become very confusing and difficult if you don’t have enough knowledge and haven’t yet learn enough since there are so many investment types to choose from. The investment strategy you will develop together with your investment style and risk tolerance should make all the confusion and difficulties be at minimum. If you are new to investing in general, working closely with a good financial planner should be a great benefit to you before making any investment. They should be able to guide and help you create your investment strategy to achieve your financial goals all within the bounds of your risk tolerance and investment style.

It’s a waste of time and money to invest without a strategy to reach a specific goal. It is important that you know where your money is going and what your money is doing before you give it away before you expect it to come back with some returns. Always have a plan and a goal before doing anything.

Information Technology – 4 Reasons to Invest During Recession

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:11:41 +0000

In the current economy, business leaders are being forced to make some tough decisions. For many, a natural instinct is to cut spending across all departments. Though this seems to be the simplest solution, it’s not always the best one. Some investments can actually help your business weather through the current economic storm. Despite the impulse to reduce budgets, here are four reasons you should consider investing in Information Technology during a recession:

Increase Productivity While Reducing Costs – Information systems streamline business operations and help you do more with less.