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The Twin Cities Fox News affiliates investigative team recently ran a new segment on mortgage and real estate fraud. A man was allegedly bilked out of nearly half a million dollars by a loan officer and real estate agent he met in a bar! The story is not a new one but what struck me was the “in a bar” statement. How many people are selecting their advisor on real estate over a beer in the local tavern? Let’s think about this a minute. One of the biggest, most important investments in a person’s life and they rely on an acquaintance in a bar? I hope they at least ordered some appetizers before they signed the contracts!

Paying off a mortgage early is something most home owners dream about. It is not an easy thing to do but it is not impossible. Paying off a mortgage early takes a lot of sacrifice. The sacrifice you do today will bring you more financial freedom tomorrow. The best way to paying off a mortgage early is paying more than the monthly payment. When you’re doing this make sure that you put in writing that the extra you pay is to pay towards the principal of the loan.

We’ve all heard about cash flow. The term that is most-used when speaking of rental property profitability. Cash flow is basically the cash that rental properties generate from various sources. The level of cash flow essentially evaluates the wealth of the property owner because even if a property owner owns 100 properties, the properties are worthless unless they are generating excess cash flow (cash after all expenses). Because of the importance of cash flow, below are five tips for increasing cash flow from rental properties.

Florida real estate properties include the residential, office and commercial buildings, as well as the land itself. The most expensive property is that along the coastline overlooking the water. They are rather expensive, and the rich own most of the beach homes and villas lining the coast.

Going into the interior, Florida real estate properties decrease in price. However, there are a couple of zones within that area that do carry a hefty price tag. While there is no dearth of property availability in Florida, it is important to be sure about the real estate agent that you choose.

While Costa Rica property investment remains popular many investors are turning their attention to other markets such as Panama, Nicaragua and Honduras, thinking upside may be better, as these are emerging markets.

The fact remains that Costa Rica property offers the best risk reward and you can still make triple digit gains, here’s why.

1. It’s a mature market

Many people like markets that are merging or taking off but as we know with most new property “hot spots” they don’t. While you can make big gains losses can be substantial.

A home equity loan is a secured loan that is taken out against a house. If you are a homeowner, you can get a homeowner’s loan. The biggest advantage of a homeowner’s loan is that it carries a low rate of interest because it is secured against a property. A home equity loan can help you release the equity tied up in your house. Home equity is the present value of your house minus the unpaid mortgage balance. A home equity loan is taken out when the house is already mortgaged. Suppose your house is mortgaged up to 80% of its total value, you can take out a home equity loan to release the remaining 20% of the home equity.

Do you feel there is going to be a real estate bubble?

Nash: No. Are some coastal and resort markets over-heated, yes. I don’t feel that markets will collapse. But investors and property owners should be ready for longer market times, diminishing over-full-price and multiple offers in over-heated markets. Prices could plateau and appreciation levels will hover at more historical levels. If you live out-of-town from where you purchased property on appreciation speculation, I would keep in very close contact with a un-biased professional in the market, daily.

Have real estate appraisers contributed to the rapid increase in home prices?

If you are in the process of refinancing your home loan, there are a number of common mistakes you need to be aware of. Here are three home loan refinancing pitfalls you need to keep an eye out for when refinancing your mortgage.

Watch Out For Prepayment Penalties

A prepayment penalty is a clause in your loan contract that requires you to pay a penalty if you refinance or sell your home before the penalty expires. Prepayment penalties can be expensive, mortgage lenders often charge up to six months worth of interest on 85% of the original loan balance. Predatory mortgage lenders include excessive fees in their loan contracts to discourage you from refinancing the loan. If you have good credit there is no reason to accept a home loan with this penalty.

People think that if you’re a landlord, you’ve got it made! You just stay at home, make sure that the rooms or houses that you’ve leased out are well maintained and, at the end of the month (or at the end of the week, depending on your arrangement with your tenant), you will receive a check amounting to the rent that’s due.

If you live in an ideal world, that would be great. But you live in the real world – a place where tenants are remiss with their responsibilities; where the cost of maintenance may be more than what you earn in rent; where rent is not always paid on time.

If you aren’t careful, it’s easy to make some major mistakes before purchasing a home that can delay or even cancel your closing on that home. So here are some tips on how to avoid common home buying mistakes that many people make.