The value is estimated just before you buy or sell a house, so as to determine the sale price of the asset. It is done before taking out a home mortgage loan, or before the house is given out for rent. The property value is also estimated by the insurance providers, when you opt for property insurance.

Methods used to determine property value

Certain appraisal methods are used to have an estimate about the property’s current market value, like:

• Comparison sales method – The value of the property is assessed by weighing it against other properties in the same area. The comparison is mainly done based on the size, quality and features of the land.

• Income method – Through this method, the value of the land is determined on the basis of the total income it generates.

• Replacement cost method – The replacement cost method determines the present value of the property, taking note of the property enhancements. It refers to the cost for replacing an old or existing property with similar yet modern utilities, materials, and design.

To know about the present value of a property, you can approach in the following ways:

1. Know about the tax assessed value of the property you are considering. You can get the details from the website of your county’s property appraiser. Have an estimate about the separate values of the land and the structures built on it.

2. Find out about the recent property sales in the area. Compare the values on the basis of the size, quality and features of the properties. Analyze on the basis of the county’s property tax rolls for each property.

3. Calculate the income potential of the property you are considering, based on the past income and expense statements of the property.

4. Determine the replacement cost for the property improvements, considering the cost of construction method and materials used.

Technology has lessened your labors, while you go for a property search. You can find all about the ownership, sales and tax assessments of the property with the help of Internet only. The property values keep on fluctuating. To make a successful and profitable real estate investment, you should definitely find out the market value of the property you are considering.

Many private investors just like you are currently enjoying these rates of return with minimum or no risk.

Smart private investors have been utilizing this investment opportunity for years. In fact, there have been entire companies built around this strategy.

This is a very safe investment that produces a high rates of return while at the same time provides higher level of security and liquidity.

You’ve seen how unsure and volatile the stock market can be. Do you want your future to be controlled by the events that take place on the other side of the globe?

Well, maybe it’s time to consider alternatives…Private Investor Loans Secured by a Mortgage

So, what is a Private Loan? It is a loan made to a real estate investor that is secured by real estate. Private Investors are given a first or second mortgage that secures their legal interest in the property and secures their investment. We are not talking about high Loan-To-Value (LTV) ratios the banks and savings and loan institutions make on homes. We are talking about companies that offer very low LTV ratios to Private Lenders to increase the security of the loan. Standard LTV ratios are usually under 75% of the value of the property securing the loan and frequently as low as 60% to 68%. This means additional security on the investment.

For example, if a property is valued at $100,000, a Private Lender will never have to loan more than $75,000 dollars on the property. That’s a 75% loan-to-value ratio. This is obviously a much safer approach from that taken by conventional lenders. These banks get into trouble because they make loans at an 85%, 90%, or even 100% loan-to-value ratio leaving them no equity for transfer costs, if they are ever forced into a position where they have to take back the collateral property.

You, as a private investor lender, will never lend more than 75% LTV. As a private investor lender, it is in your best interest to minimize risk and maximize return and this is why a loan should never be made without a 25% safety net.

So what’s it going to be? Are you ready to take action? Are you going to continue to let other people control your money so you only get a return that barely keeps up with inflation? Or are you going to take control and make sure that when you get ready to retire, you can do what you want without worry about money. If you are retired, here is a great opportunity to squeeze every interest dollar out of your savings that you can. Private investor lending is an incredible way to build wealth in a way that most people aren’t aware exists. You’re not one of those people who are uninformed anymore.

The 30 year mortgage rate hits rock bottom again.

This just re-confirms why this is an amazing time to buy a home, another record has been set with the 30 year mortgage rate. Freddie Mac’s said the 30-year fixed mortgage rate slipped to 4.44% for the week of August, 9th 2010. This is the lowest mortgage rate since it began tracking the rate in 1971. If you have been waiting on the sideline, this is a great time to jump in and buy a house. Last week’s rates stood at 4.49%, and a year ago it was at 5.29%, which was still historically low.

The 15-year fixed mortgage rate also dropped this week to 3%, that is down from 3.95% last week and from 4.68% a year ago.

Adjustable-rate mortgages also declined, with the 5-year mortgage rate falling to 3.56% this week, the lowest since 2005 when the lender began tracking it. Again, if you can afford a home you may seriously want to consider taking advantage of these historically low mortgage rates.

No matter what your situation might be, if your Hudson Valley house qualifies and you are flexible on price and terms, we can buy your Hudson Valley New York house…NOW! Sometimes life can put you in a bind that makes you realize “I need to sell my hudson valley house fast.” Paragon Equities can help. We can buy your Hudson Valley house fast no matter what your situation, even if you don’t have equity. If you are looking to avoid foreclosure we have a variety of solutions and options that can help too.

From the moment you call us and say “sell my home” to the day you have the money from the sale in hand, you’ll realize we do things differently. There are many companies that buy houses in the Hudson Valley, but we treat you as though we are doing business with family. We want to help end the worry and the sleepless nights you have spent wondering how you were going to sell your house fast, especially in this market.

Even if you have not had much luck selling your house via the For Sale by Owner listings, Paragon Equities can help. We can work with you to create a solution that is beneficial to everyone. Get your Hudson Valley house sold fast and walk away smiling.

Experts emphasized that the foreclosure numbers don’t fully reflect the extent of distress at the high end, because for expensive homes, banks are more likely to pursue short sales, in which the homeowner stays put while marketing the home for less than is owed on the mortgage. “Banks take the time on the high end to short-sale properties because they get a higher return and better valuation,” said Pat Lashinsky, CEO of Emeryville’s ZipRealty, a nationwide brokerage. Buyers of high-end homes during the real estate boom years often relied on option ARMs, which allowed them to start off paying just the interest – or even less than the interest, thus adding on to their mortgage balance. Most option ARMs had an initial period of five years before loans recast, causing payments to soar.

Refer Your Short Sales

Under HAFA, banks must decide within 10 business days whether to approve or deny a requested short sale under the program. Banks already have an inventory of 1.1 million foreclosed houses, recent estimates by LPS Applied Analytics of Jacksonville, Fla., show. Many more will be heading for a short sale or foreclosure. The Mortgage Bankers Association said more than 9 percent of homeowners were behind at least one payment on their mortgages in the fourth quarter. LPS figures 4.8 million are delinquent or already in the start of the foreclosure process. The HAFA program can’t reach many of those houses. Lenders participating in the federal government’s effort to encourage mortgage relief for distressed homeowners — Home Affordable Modification Program — are required to participate in HAFA as well.

And Bank of America, the country’s largest mortgage servicer, has more than doubled the number of short sales it processed in recent months. This is a huge change from even just six months ago when the short-sale market was stalled and most people would describe the process has real estate hell. Because lenders stand to lose so much on these transactions, they have been reluctant to make short sales happen, often waiting months before getting back to potential buyers. But that has been changing.

For one thing, banks realize that they make out far better financially with a short sale than a foreclosure. “The lenders lose 50% on a foreclosure and only 30% on a short sale,” said Glenn Kelman, founder of the real estate Web site Redfin. “And short sales offer a way to get distressed properties off their books quickly.” And on April 5, lenders and mortgage investors will have even more incentives to offer troubled borrowers short sales instead of foreclosing. Under the new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program, borrowers will earn a $3,000 “relocation incentive” and servicers will get $1,500 for handling a short sale. The investors who actually own the mortgage notes will get $2,000 in exchange for sharing proceeds of the short sales with any second-lien holders. And, finally, those second lien holders will receive up to $6,000 for releasing their claims. Lenders participating in the program must also determine the market values of properties early on
and inform the owners of just what price they’re willing to accept. Then, if owners come back to the lenders with bonafide offers, they have to be accepted within 10 days.

What’s in HAFA?

The coming boom in short sales may accelerate the end to the foreclosure crisis by cleaning out the overhang of borrowers in distress and replacing them with more stable homeowners. Plus, these sales are better for distressed borrowers because their credit scores suffer less. Going through a foreclosure can knock 200 points off a FICO score, twice as much as the penalty for a short sale. I’ll provide details as they come along, but here’s a primer from the National Association of Realtors (NAR):

- Complements HAMP by providing a viable alternative for borrowers (the current homeowners) who are HAMP eligible but nevertheless unable to keep their home.

- Uses borrower financial and hardship information already collected in connection with consideration of a loan modification.

- Allows borrowers to receive pre-approved short sales terms before listing the property (including the minimum acceptable net proceeds).

- Prohibits the servicers from requiring a reduction in the real estate commission agreed upon in the listing agreement (up to 6%).

- Requires borrowers to be fully released from future liability for the first mortgage debt (no cash contribution, promissory note, or deficiency judgment is allowed).

- Uses standard processes, documents, and time-frames/deadlines.

- Provides financial incentives: $1,500 for borrower relocation assistance; $1,000 for servicers to cover administrative and processing costs; and up to $1,000 for investors for allowing a total of up to $3,000 in short sale proceeds to be distributed to subordinate lien holders (on a one-for-three matching basis).

- Requires all servicers participating in HAMP to implement HAFA in accordance with their own written policy, consistent with investor guidelines. The policy may include factors such as the severity of the potential loss, local markets, timing of pending foreclosure actions, and borrower motivation and cooperation.