Friday, August 31, 2007

House-Flipping still offers good opportunity




First, pick an area on which you'd like to focus and learn more about it than other potential investors. Drive the neighborhoods, check the public records, and use the search engine at http://www.nickwoodard.com/ to see how long properties stay on the market and what they eventually fetch. Also get to know the contractors and real estate agents; there's a good chance you'll eventually want to negotiate with one of them. Get up to speed on the local building permit and coding process, too.

Meanwhile, learn everything you can about home buying and remodeling in general. It helps keep costs down, but isn't mandatory, if you're able to do at least some of the remodeling work yourself. Refer to my "preferred partners" section for a list of trusted remodelers, drywallers, and painters. Read books, lurk in the real estate forums online and talk to people with experience about potential trapdoors and hidden hurdles in the business. In fact, you might want to partner with someone more experienced for your first deal or two.

Then be patient. When and if a good opportunity does come up, you'll be ready. You'll know the market well enough to gauge the value, you'll have your financing already lined up, and you'll know what you need to do to make a profit. If you are interested in seeing what good deals might be out there, give me a call. I drive the areas everyday and can point you in the direction of some very profitable locations.

Monday, August 27, 2007

What is REALLY happening in the mortgage industry?


Ok like promised, I want to try to shed a little light on the current "mortgage scare" that seams to have become a reality in the eyes of the media. The reason for the current "crisis" can be summed up in a simple phrase "buyers got in way over their heads." Is the mortgage industry to blame? Partly yes. With the real estate market taking off like a rocket in the last couple of years, everyone became a buyer. Everyone wanted in on the action. Buyers were buying homes on a mortgage ARM ( Adjustable Rate Mortgage) with a wonderful rate to start off with, but growing as the years moved along. Guess what.....the years moved along and all of a sudden families were seeing their monthly payment go up, some of them drastically. What happens then? You are forced into pumping more of your money into paying for your house. You become what I like to call "house broke", something that my clients will tell you I am very cautious of. Well for a ton of home owners it became too much. They then became forced to sell their homes. Those were the lucky ones. There were many people that were forced into foreclosure. With many homes going into foreclosure, the big lenders lost a ton of money. Not to mention they had their investors knocking down their door wanting their money as well. Hence the reason 116 mortage lenders went out of business this year.

Why I believe the mortage industry is partially at fault? Because it is our job as trusted professionals in the industry to be knowledable of our client's needs and to put them at the top of the list. I feel that many mortage officers wanted to "make the deal happen" and allowed their trusting clients to get into a product that was not in their best interest. Sure it looked pretty up front and allowed them to get into their "dream house" worry free for the first 3 years. But then all of a sudden their rates went up and their dream home became a nightmare! It is our job as professionals to diligently educate our clients on what to expect throughout the long run, not just the 2 months that we are working on the deal. It is our responsibility to make sure that we are serving our clients with the best of intentions. And yes, sometimes that means telling them that they cannot have a loan.

My personal opinion is that the mortgage industry messed up and now things are a little tougher than they were last year. But it is nothing to worry about. I don't think that the housing "bubble" is going to burst. I don't even think there is a "bubble". And I certainly dont think that any of your homes are in jeopordy of losing value in and around the Nashville area. Actually in my opinion there isn't a better time to buy. It looks like the government is stepping in to protect rates and keep this whole "situation" at bay. To sum it all up.......mistakes were made and lessons were learned, but the market is still as strong as ever.

So buyers out there, it is all about finding someone to trust. Sometimes it isn't always best to go with the person that does the most business or has the best advertising. Ninety nine percent of the time your safest bet is to go with the one that has your best interest in mind, not his. If you are considering buying a house or even need to refinance, take a look at my "Preferred Partners" section. These are the people you can trust!

I want to end my thoughts by thanking you once again for stopping by. I pray that the Lord blesses you with His favor. Make it a point to make a difference in someone else's life today. God Bless

Nick Woodard

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Thanks for stopping by!


Thank you all so much for stopping by and taking a look at my webpage. We are just getting off of the ground, so take a look around and make sure to come back in the following weeks for updated information. In the mean time, if you have any questions about anything feel free to give me a call. There is a lot of media attention about the current housing market. Some of it is true, but most of it is exaggeration. Stay tuned and I'll explain why. God Bless