Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie - Rich Girls and Their Real Estate

By Lance W. 

For investing in Real Estate perhaps there is no better time than the next 18 months to be one with a huge cash flow during rock bottom real estate prices. In Parts I and II and specifically Part II we noted all the real estate holdings of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. After careful in-depth digging of the public record it was amazing to find much more property than most people had believed.

After all, who would expect a young single gal to own so many pieces of real estate, while in the prime of their lives and a list of parties to attend, that is a mile long? Each gal of course owns a private residence, all of which are substantial. Britney Spears, who has a monthly income said to be about $700,000 per month, enjoys spending all of it, without saving, or does she? Owning real estate at the bottom of the market is in a way like money in the bank.

Paris Hilton's timely purchase of some prime Malibu Beachfront property, is not a bad call either. That neighborhood historically was the last to be hit during downturns in the real estate cycle and generally the first to recover. She may have bought very close to its lowest low - what would you expect from the daughter of a superstar business family with real estate holdings the world over.

We also know that Paris Hilton, although quite controversial is also a hugely successful business woman with royalty income of well over 3 million a year, you may think she is a dumb blonde, but you'd be dead wrong. In fact, Paris Hilton's on the prowl for prime real estate in this depressed market and something tells me she'll find exactly those pieces she is looking for. The term " buy low, sell high" has been a Hilton tradition and this young gal does not seem to be one to break that rule of thumb.

Nicole Richie, is indeed rich, not as rich as the other gals, but she has some nice real estate holdings, even though she is more in the boat with many Americans as to the timing of her purchases. Anyone, who believes Nicole Richie is down and out, reads too many tabloids and believes too much of what they see on TV or read in the Inquirer.

In conclusion, Paris Hilton, is beginning her own real estate fortune and is miles ahead of the other girls in the long-term real estate investment game. She has made some early decisive moves and does not appear to be stopping anytime soon. I hope you have enjoyed this three-part series and comprehensive case study of the three most popular Hollywood Babes and their diverse and most fascinating Real Estate Holdings.

My name is Lance Winslow and I am a semi-retired entrepreneur, retired Franchisor and now I am a consultant brain-4-hire, internet writer and author. I got bored in retirement so I founded the Online Think Tank - http://www.worldthinktank.net . If you would like to send me an email just to say hi, discuss an article, send me hate mail or need some advice you can find me at; http://www.carwashguys.com/history/founder.html . Have a great day and thanks for reading - tell me about you? Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_W.

How To Choose A Real Estate Agent?

By Mark Zawaideh

A real estate agent will guide you to - and through - the most important decision of your life. How do you know, for sure, that he will act in your best interests?

How do you know if he will really work for you? Is he too busy for you? What of his personal integrity? How much effort will he expend for you?

You will want to feel very comfortable with the real estate agent that you choose, comfortable enough to be able to say 'no' to the bargain of the month and 'no' to the almost perfect house.

He must not be intimidating to you, yet a business-like attitude and assertiveness are qualities you will want in a professional acting for you.

Often when you are choosing a business professional, the outcome is not so critical, but who wants to lose their dream property? Choosing a real estate agent falls into the same bracket as choosing a medical doctor or a lawyer.

The interview and short listing process is really all about finding one that you feel comfortable with. Real estate agents usually have a 'presentation'. This is usually a very business-like procedure and if they are having an off day, the presentation may click in automatically.

However, you will need to get past the 'rehearsed' person and get to know the real one. Mostagents will have integrity, they have their reputations to think about, but you need to feel that you also have one that understands you and your wants.

Some agents have amazing sales records, so ask about sales history. Ask if he would mind giving you some recent sales to choose references from. Gather up at least half a dozen and then choose your own references to phone. Before you phone, ask the real estate agent a few questions.

For instance: How long was each house on the market? How many were reduced and why? How many times and by how much?

Some other questions could be: Will there be a marketing plan drawn up for the sale of your house? Will it be carried out? What guarantees do you have? To see if the agent is keen and enthusiastic, ask him if he has taken any extra real estate courses.

See if you find his voice or tone very monotone; if so, do you find it relaxing, or would you prefer a lively voice generating a more energetic feeling?

Finally you must try and gauge the quality of his negotiating skills. Ask about commissions; in a house sale it will be necessary for you both to be able to discuss money amicably.

Observe the way the agent explains things when you try and negotiate a lower rate. If he can convince you that his fee is fair and that he will have to work hard to earn it, then he can convince others to listen to his viewpoint when he is working for you!

All this discussion will give you enough time and a good basis on which to judge the personality of the agent. Then the bottom line is that you have to pick someone that you feel you can trust.

Mark is in the top 1% of sales associates in the United States, and is based in the Northville Michigan real estate market. If you're looking to buy or sell property in the Birmingham MI real estate area, be sure to visit Mark at http://www.markzproperties.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Zawaideh

Overview - International Real Estate

By M Siddique 

It suddenly occurred to us that we were very remiss in not pointing out that Gudrun was born and raised in Germany. While Tcat came into the world in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia -- he has been based in México for some years. Both Tcat and Gudrun can clearly agree there is much more to transcend then language, or even culture or history... add philosophical approach differences to how government is run... you can trust us. It makes for finding the area of common reference a real challenge.

For example, Gudrun and Tcat were out listening to Bill Gatten in Los Angeles. It's certainly not the point that the incredible Mr. Gatten was presenting pearls of wisdom, as he always does. (He is a Great Magician, in more ways than one.) Anyway... and here is where it gets dicy...

Bill is doing a great job explaining the really cool twists of an Illinois-based land trust brings over other real estate transaction methods and getting a seller of full price offer... however that's another story... so anyway...

So we're taking a break from Bill Gatten's land trust seminar in Los Angeles, taking a working lunch break... and Gudrun says to me something to the effect of:

Okay, so the Illinois-based land trust from Bill Gatten creates a win-win-win, using a tripod of: time, tax code and not being piggy. Got it. What I don't get is why this is such a great deal? All it will take is the U.S. Congress changing the tax law making all this land trust stuff just go away.

Someone once said confession is good for the soul. Okay. I confess Tcat did a bad thing.

I laughed at my partner.

Thankfully, she did not get insulted. And we quickly discovered that despite years of working together, on many topics we figured out how the tax code works is so radically different "across the pond", from each other -- it just never occurred to her United States tax law looks so quirky.

Uncle Sam gives and takes -

The oddity that Uncle Sam extends its reach for taxes to its citizens on even foreign earned and already (locally) taxed income. Yet, Uncle Sam is so generous with tax credits on private home ownership and deductions on real estate. To Gudrun, Uncle Sam is so generous; it was beyond her tax scope. Note to self-Tcat. Remind yourself (again) to run down the punch list of assumptions and be alert for things normally taken for granted.

I laughed at Gudrun even entertaining the idea that the United States could just turn on a dime and change the way its economy is built on numerous tax incentives. It was then that we both realized that our long-standing joke, "it's different on the other side of the pond", is no joke.

This becomes a funny education on democracy. Because sure, Tcat and Gudrun are from democratic countries yet international details on tax are fundamental and easily overlooked or taken for granted. And that allows for a lot more freedom of expression than it first appears. So much so, it surprised your veterans on the topic.

So anyway... the take away on this is: It's not insulting to check all the assumptions when investing locally or internationally. It can be enlightening and entertaining. It can be a deal maker or a deal breaker. It always is, surprising.

Hey! We didn't do all this work and put it on ButterflyLister. Just to sit in it dark, stuffy and hot little box of electronics. Not only that, we cannot hear you when you talk to us. Send us an e-mail to tell us what topics you would like to hear about. Feedback@ButterflyLister.com

Siddique is real estate investor for over 22 years and President of ButterFlyLister. This article first appeared on http://www.butterflylister.com - a leading real estate website with a comprehensive property listings with owner financing and lease to purchase options. Now Sellers can sell their homes at full price in any market. Launched in 2007, ButterFlyLister now offers Home Listing service throughout the united States for buyers and sellers. ButterFlyLister attracts thousands of buyers, sellers and real estate investors a month. Download Free How to sell your Home for Full Price in any market. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=M_Siddique

Real Estate Companies

Real Estate Recession and Military Base Closures - The BRAC

By M Siddique 

Gudrun and Tcat have discussed the market cycles and in quite a few of our pieces, how down trends in the real estate market are spotty, and not uniform. We found what for some is a real crystal ball! It is called The BRAC. This rather large tome may help you figure out is your market experiencing or about to experience a real estate recession? It turns out many builders look at The BRAC to figure out where to build new construction.

Certainly, are quite a number of factors to consider before even coming up with a probably yes or probably no real estate recession in your market. There are no definitive this or that methods of prediction. It's not a matter of just "reading the tea leaves" either. If you happen to be in an area containing one of the thousands of military bases, "The BRAC" can be a major clue to real estate boom or real estate recession. In this short article we'll take a look at what's that means.

The BRAC is actually an acronym from the United States government. BRAC is short for "Base Realignment and Closure". This is a fancy term coming from the Department of Defense (DoD) which tells you in a high likelihood, what side of the coin you are going to be on. Let's give an example.

We have mentioned to you on several occasions that an area that is doing well is Huntsville, Alabama. So unless you're a student of history, have business in that area or live in that area, you probably have little to no idea where Huntsville is or why is it hopping?

Huntsville is in the middle of Alabama, featuring one of the older mountain ranges in the United States. Now granted. Gudrun knows more about the geography of Germany than I do. When we were touring Huntsville. I mention to her. My understanding is that Godard had picked hear to live and work, because it reminded him of the Black Forest in Europe.

She agreed that the rocky limestone mountains and vegetation in the forest was quite similar. Sidebar, for those of you who don't know Got hard. He was literally, a rocket scientist snapped up by the USA at the end of the second world war to work on missiles and space exploration. So what does all this have to do with The BRAC? Well it turns out, just about everything.

NASA has a complex it runs in Huntsville. Makes sense. They use rockets too. Redstone Arsenal for the United States Army, is there as well. So what does this all have to do with the BRAC, You may be repeating.

As the world and technology has changed, so has military requirements. The bottom-line is, the Department of Defense is consolidating bases. If you're not familiar in the reading of management speak (sometimes called Sanskrit) --- consolidating bases means were closing up a bunch of bases. As in: kaput, gone, closed, good-bye.

As many military families live off base, along with 100% of the civilian support personnel and contractors, a base closure is highly likely to cause a real estate recession in your area. So what's up with Huntsville? Well it turns out that the remaining duties from the bases and installations that are closed still have to have something happen somewhere.

In this case it means: Huntsville wins! So of course, finding even empty land to develop on in Huntsville is a daunting challenge to say the least. Naturally of course than existing housing prices are on a solid upswing. However. Before the entire state of Alabama begins to cheer, we would like to point out the other side of the coin for Alabama.

Page 35 of the 2005 BRAC, updated in April 2007. The first listing for Army, State of Alabama. Abbott USARC in Tuskegee, Alabama. It says: "estimated completion date for all closure or realignment actions: May 1 2010".

Think that might cause a bit of a downturn in housing prices for Tuskegee? Of course, this is not the only closure happening. However, some are a little bit luckier than others. Looking at page 40 of the BRAC we see:

Faith Wing USARC Anniston, AL is about to suffer the same fate however, careful study of this BRAC entry reveals that while the closure will be complete. 1 July 2011, FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency - Department of Homeland Security will be stepping in with a "Anticipated Transfer Date" of 1 September 2011. So a recession hitting this city is far less likely.

All in all, the BRAC weighs in at 1835 pages.

Perhaps now you can see how many factors can go into a real estate boom or bust in United States. We want to thank, J.C. Newark, California for writing in and asking why can be so difficult to figure out why some markets are sinking, while others are swimming.

Come on! It's dark, stuffy and hot inside this little box of electronics. Not only that, we cannot hear you when you talk to us. Follow J.C.'s lead and send either of us an e-mail to tell us what topics you would like to hear about.

Siddique is real estate investor for over 22 years and President of http://www.butterflylister.com - Download Free How to sell your Home for Full Price in any market. feedback@ButterflyLister.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=M_Siddique

What Real Estate Really Needs Right Now Is Some Certainty

By Carl Johnson

What we really need right now is some certainty. There are just too many question marks in the minds of buyers today. The housing market is down and no one is sure where the turnaround is, the stock market is lacking direction, interest rates are uncertain and people are worried about fuel prices. Unfortunately, the media does a very good job of highlighting bad news and reinforcing uncertainty.

Anyone who has read my report for a while knows that I am not one to spin the data. But I would like to take this month's report to look at the positive facts.

So lets look at what we know.

Unemployment in the state for the first quarter was at 3.7% and only slightly worse than last year (3.5%). Much better than our neighbor to the south, Massachusetts, at 5%. Employment has been fairly consistent over the past couple of years. Although the figures are nice to look at, I think at times it is better to consider how people feel about their job situation. Based on the people with whom I have spoken, I would say that not many are worried about their job. That's pretty positive.

To illustrate the strange effect we are seeing in this market where job security is high, we can look at what is happening with prices. The average price per square foot of a home sold was down 4% from last year yet the average selling price was down only 1% from a year ago. So it seems that as the prices of homes come down, people are buying more house. Perhaps it is a slightly larger home (The average size of a home sold in Q2 was 2,333 sf, the highest of any quarter since 2001!) or it has more features. The fact is, buyers are able to afford homes and show a willingness to spend the money to get what they want. Again, this would not happen in a poor economy!

We also know that the time that a sold home was on the market came down this month (128 days) and sold closer to its asking price (within 2.5%). Sellers seem to have adjusted to the real estate situation and have lowered their asking price. The homes that are well priced are selling.

I find it hard to look at this market and be pessimistic. True, we are clearly in a buyers market with a 9.6 month supply of homes. (a 6 month supply is considered balanced) But we had a very hot market up until late 2005. Though it was a lot of fun while it lasted we are only just getting back to a more realistic and, hopefully, sustainable market. Now if we could only get the news media to report more realistically I think we would be in much better shape.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Market Notables:

• Single family home sales in July were down 19% from July 2006.






• Single family home sales YTD through July of 2007 are down 8.6% from 2006.






• The number of homes placed under contract in July were up 10% from last month (unusual for the time of year) and up 12% from July 2006.






• The number of single family homes on the market was up 3.3% in June 2007 versus 2006. This further increases seller competition.






• The average price of homes sold in July was nearly unchanged (-1%) from a year ago at ~$388,000.






• The average price per square foot of a home sold in July is $169/sf . Down ~4% from a year ago.






• The number of days it took to sell a home that sold in July was 128 days. Unchanged from July 2006.

For complete reports delivered to you each month go to Homes and Land in NH with all the information you need to buy or sell you home. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carl_Johnson

Why Agents Need a Viable Website!

By Mack Perry

While many agents are finding times to be more stressful and earning a living in real estate has become more difficult, there are ways to succeed in today's marketplace. The most prominent way to succeed in today's environment is through a visible website. In the past, agents would have a website for the primary purpose of being able to state to a prospective client that they had one. The other agent's had a site, so in order to compete on a level playing field you had to have one also. Those days are gone.

Not only do you have to have a website but it had better be visible and be found on the search engines like Google, MSN, and Yahoo. The days of "my son knows how to build a site, so I'm going to let him do it" are also gone. To compete in today's marketplace, a viable real estate website must be optimized for the search engines. In doing this the key phrases that generate traffic to the site can be found. This is what generates the leads required to produce income so that agents can survive.

Search engine traffic to your site is "Type-In Traffic". What is meant by that? Simply stated, a visitor to your site typed a phrase into the search query of one of the search engines and the results page leads them to your site. There are a few important benefits to this kind of traffic. First off the visitor came to you. Should they elect to contact you, they contacted you! Remember the do-not-call list? If they contact you and you in turn follow up with them you have not violated the do-not-call list. Another benefit of the prospect contacting you would be that when you do your follow up it will not be considered spam. Heaven only knows how we have all come to despise spam. The final benefit that will be mentioned here deals with ROI. We are all business people that must be concerned with our return on investment. That's right, return on investment. By having a well optimized site, we as REALTORS can realize a decent return on our investment which in turn will reduce some of the stress associated with the environment we are doing business in.

This article was written by Mack Perry, an Atlanta, GA REALTOR. His website can be viewed at http://www.mackperryhomes.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mack_Perry