Posts Tagged properties

Struggle to Find Rental Properties in Cape Town

Tenants are struggling to find rental properties in many Cape Town suburbs as owners hope to cash in on above-market World Cup rentals, estate agents say. Many owners have stopped signing long term leases by the end of last year in order to free up their rental properties during June and July. The concern, however, is that it isn’t only owners in popular tourist areas such as the city centre and along the Atlantic Seaboard who are hoping to make a fortune from the World Cup, but even in areas such as Durbanville and Parow who hope to make R3 000 or more a day.

With millions being paid for mansions in Clifton and Camp’s Bay during the World Cup, many other homeowners believe they can also attract sky-high rents during the tournament. There are many pitfalls and hidden costs, such as additional insurance, agents warn.

In addition, tourists who are willing to pay big bucks for rental properties want high-quality, furnished apartments that are on par with the accommodation standards of luxury hotels. Prime location is also incredibly important, agents say. While tenants are struggling to find property at the moment, the market may be flooded in August when all the World Cup rentals are released back in the market.

For landlords, the market for more affordable rental properties, where rent is between R3 000 and R7 000 per month, is still the least risky, with nearly 80% of tenants in this category paying their rent on time. Despite the World Cup, the rental market in Cape Town – which recorded a dismal growth rate of 2% in income in 2009 – is unlikely to pick up significantly this year, according to the latest statistics by Rode & Associates.

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How to Buy Commercial Real Estate With No Money Down

In real estate the bigger the deal the bigger the profit. Instead of focusing on many small single family homes why not put all your effort into a few commercial real estate deals where the profit can be huge.

Once you understand how the financing works buying the property will be easy.

1. Research - The best way to buy commercial property with no money down is through research. The bigger the potential discount the higher the potential loan. The financing will depend mostly on the appraisal of the real estate itself. The appraisal is done by comparing similar properties that have sold in the last 6 months – year. With commercial appraisals it is hard to get the true value since there are few properties that are similar. This creates the potential for a high appraisal since the appraiser is putting their own value on the property. Appraising is more of an art than a science so appraisals do come in high many times.

2. Offer - Since many commercial properties require 30% or more down to purchase a good way to get around this is by having the seller finance the 30% using a second mortgage. The bank will finance the 70% first mortgage with the seller financing the second mortgage at 30%. This gets you a property with 100% financing. The closing costs can also be financed in with the loan if you submit the offer as such.

Getting big properties with no money down is not only easy but very profitable. As you do more of these deals they get much easier to do.

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Umbria – One of Italy’s Most Attractive Property Markets

Despite the name “The green heart of Italy” gives a good idea of the beauty of this region, Umbria has much more to offer and never ends to amaze. Its history, culture, nature, succulent food and an endless number of stunning hilltop medieval towns, make Umbria one of Italy’s most enchanting regions.

All these characteristics alone would make owning a property in Umbria very appealing to anyone, but there’s lot more to say about it. For example, Umbria’s territory is made up for its 30% of woodland and with less than one million inhabitants in total and 106.4 inhabitant per square Km, its population density is the lowest of the country, about half of the national average, giving everybody enough room to live peacefully.

Another reason why Umbria is so attractive is that it doesn’t have neither a coastline nor an international border, this has helped it keeping its traditions and has given to it a further sense of mystic.

The demand for properties in Umbria as you can expect is quite strong. For all the reasons mentioned above and for loads of other reasons not mentioned for space issues, Umbria has seen its appeal and its property prices rise steadily across the last twenty years, making it reach one of the top positions in the high end markets of Italy. Nevertheless, the majority of people that buy a property there consider Umbria still worth it, as it preserves a truer charm than the close by Tuscany.

The property type that attracts more interest is still the typical stone house or farmhouse, mostly favoured by people searching a quiet place to live in, with some land or a garden to enjoy the peace of the nature and relax, better if there’s a swimming pool, or to set up a business such as a B&B. Many buyers prefer to invest in a property to be restored so they can customize their home as they want it. The strong demand of these properties has made its prices go up and for a country house to restore the requests start from 120/130 thousand Euros and from about 250 thousand Euros for the same home properly restored that maintain the original features.

A fairly new tendency is the growing attraction for town houses and apartments located in one of the many stunning hilltop villages. Many people don’t feel like staying in an isolated home, thus they discover the convenience of staying close to shops, services and to other people, having so more contacts with locals and being an inner part of a community that offers the real flavour of true Italian lifestyle.

There are many buyers that think of properties in Umbria as a great investment opportunity, and they think right. For instance Perugia, other than being the Capital and hosting an international airport that well serves all the region, it is also an important university city, well known around the world for its “Universitagrave; per Stranieri” (University for Foreigners). The income potential in this city is very high as there’ll always be a strong need of rental from students and, as it is a very lovely city that attracts big crowds of tourists, it is a very appealing market also for short term and holiday rentals. Another city that attracts many investors is Assisi; the home town of San Francesco is one of the most visited worship places in the whole world, thus one of the most sought after places for property investments.

Umbria is a true jewel and never ends to enchant its many visitors. The word of mouth spread by satisfied and happy owners will always attract home buyers from all over the world, this is mainly why buying a property in Umbria is currently one of the safest and enjoyable place where to invest your savings.

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