With little creativity and 3 to 4 months time investment you can create $20,000, $50,000 even $100,000 or more in equity. How? ‘Fixer uppers’ aka ‘handyman specials’. No you don’t need to be a handyman you just need to hire one. 

Find a fixer upper in the area you want to own a home. There are a number of ways you can do it. Ask your realtor to search on Multiple Listings System for ‘corporate owned’ and/or ‘bank owned’ properties. Do a Google search for ‘Real Estate Owned‘ or ‘REO’; this will give you a list of websites where you can find bank owned properties. These are the terms that lenders use to describe properties that they repossessed though foreclosure and they are more than egger to get rid of them. Also it’s a good idea to scan through your local classifieds for ads that contain one of the following: ‘motivated sellers’, ‘handyman special’, ‘needs TLC’.

Get a repair estimate and asses the after repair value of the property. All you have to do to get repair estimate is find a few contractors who will give their estimate of the work you want to get done. Get at least 3 solid estimates. In order to find out what the After Repair Value of the home will be, simply look at what price properties comparable to yours are sold in the half a mile radius in the last 3 to 6 months. If you really get you mind set on a particular home and seriously considering the purchase you can hire an appraiser. Make an offer on the property and in the contract include clause saying that if an appraisal contingent on the repairs you are planning to complete comes in at less than what you are estimated you can walk away from the deal without any penalties.

When looking at houses look for what it can be, not at what it is right now.  You will see properties that look a lot scarier than what they really are. Don’t over spend; focus on the things that will add most value to your new home. Kitchen and bathroom updates should be the biggest part of your repair budget. If space permits you can add a bedroom or a bathroom. Remember, our goal is to create as much equity as possible so budget for renovations that will give you the most bang for your buck.

Make an offer and close the deal. One definite advantage you have working for you is the property itself. Use the short comings of the house as your negotiating ammo. At this point you have at least 3 estimates from licensed contractor and you should do home inspection. This will protect you from unpleasant surprises in the future.

Find and close on financing for your project. You have a few couple of chooses: First – hard money lenders. Once you start your research you will find out a few scary things, for example, high closing costs and high interest. However the advantages way outweigh the cons. Your closing costs and six months of payments can be rolled into the loan, which gives you enough time to complete the project and refinance with a convectional lender. You can finance up to 100% of the purchase price and repair costs. Hard money loans are short-term loans with balloon payment usually in 12 to 18 months. Don’t let it scare you, if you are diligent and stay on top of your project you will be enjoying your new home way before the balloon payment is due.

Second option is a private loan. You might know someone who will be willing to lend you money to complete your project in return for higher interest rate than what they are getting on CDs or stock market. You will offer then 1st lien on your property and refinance out of their loan in 6 to 8 months or earlier. This is a great alternative to hard money loans. You can negotiate low or none closing costs and lower interest rate.

Complete your rehab. At this stage you have to be focused.  Monitor your contractors. Always check on the work that is claimed to be completed before you pay them. And one rule that can not be broken and I can not stress it enough; DO NOT prepay your contractors.  If you want to complete your project on time and within your budget and don’t want to get screwed out of your hard earned $$, do not prepay for any work. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. This one mistake can break your whole venture and leave you with a huge debt and nothing to show for it.

Refinance with conventional lender. As soon as your repairs completed start applying for refinancing.  At this stage you will have to do second appraisal of the property. This will be ‘as is appraisal’ to determine what the current value of the house is. If you did your homework at the beginning of your project and your initial estimates were correct, by now you have created enough equity to refinance out of your hard money loan. In some cases you might be even able to walk away with cash from the closing table to buy some nice furniture for your newly remodeled home.

Why go through all this trouble? You can have a newly remodeled home, completely customized to your own taste and needs for a total cost of 70 cents on dollar or less compared to the property values in your area.

Originating as a small master planned community, Prosper has expanded and spread its wings, and now the secret of this hidden gem is leaking out – Prosper’s projected growth is estimated to reach almost 85,000 by the year 2035.

One day, real estate prices in Prosper will be out of reach, but for now, home prices hover from the $300s to over $2 million. The variety of real estate is staggering for such a small town, and there are choices for every price range and lifestyle. In fact, it’s rare to find so many choices of quality, affordable real estate in one spot. Where else can you live in a new home with luxury amenities, in an exclusive golf community for just over $300,000?

Here is a sampling of the various types of properties available in the Prosper real estate buffet..

Moderately Priced Homes & Starters

Under $200 – In this price range you can find single family homes built in the last 5 years in the mid to high $100s. Those under $150 usually average under 2,000 square feet in size. Most homes have small lots, and are situated in communities with small playgrounds nearby.

New construction in this price range is also available. If you look at older homes, you’re more likely to get a considerably bigger lot (.41 acres), with large mature trees.

Under $300 – How about a 5 year old home, over 4,000 square feet, with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, master bath with jetted tub, shower, separate vanities, walk-in closet, 3 fireplaces, cooktop stove, separate oven, butlers pantry, and media room – whew! – for only $279,000. It’s unheard of. You could barely build the home for that price.

Eco-Friendly Homes

These homes come in all shapes and sizes and have been built according to environmentally friendly standards. Prices range from the high $200s to over $1 million, but they all have similar energy saving characteristics. Common eco-friendly features include: over 12 inches of attic insulation, 13-15 SEER Air Conditioner, ceiling fans, double pane windows, energy star appliances, high efficiency water heater, programmable thermostat, insulated doors, and low E windows.

Golf Course Homes

The golf community of Gentle Creek Estates has homes that start in the mid to high $300s going up into the millions for a custom estate sitting on over an acre, bordering the fairway. Patio homes are also available and popular with empty nesters. Residents share a community pool and amenity center.

The community borders the Gentle Creek Golf Course. This popular club has a large clubhouse, fitness center, pro shop and Lakeside Grille restaurant overlooking the 18th hole.

Equestrian Properties

The horse friendly properties in Prosper take advantage of the many wide open spaces in the area. Many of these homes are found in the 300 acre master planned community of Whispering Farms. This unique neighborhood is brimming with large wooded lots, acres of parks, miles of riding trails and a world-class equestrian center. Home prices in Whispering Farms range from the $300′s to over a million.

Property or real estate market contains a better money  growth than other markets, and on the other hand, risk factor is minimum here.  Real estate in India, due to this reason, is one of the biggest growing  sectors.  Information and proposed plans  of various real estate developers in India are planned and drafted. Categories  according to residential and commercial sectors are made according to the needs  and demands of the potential buyers, sellers and lenders. The real estate developers are the prominent people who are visible and help in the transaction  of bulk properties in the field of Real Estate and Infrastructure. Take the  case of any IT cities, such as Gurgaon, Noida, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune. The  real estate of each of these cities has witnessed sea change on the back of IT  boom. The other factors which boost the real estate and infrastructure  development in India are, the generally acceptable English language is widely  spoken here and talent pool is unlimited as the country churns out around 15  million graduates every year. As compared to the United States, the man power  cost is also cheaper in India by 10 -14%. Construction development company has  lot of scope in the growth of real estate development, but it has some  responsibilities towards the society also like – Improving the quality of life  for the end user and those in the surrounding community, Respecting the ideas  and concerns of everyone whom our development affects and preserving and  protecting the natural environment. The need of such real estate development  company is always there in real estate market, which helps other sectors like Interior  Decoration, Architectures and Builders etc. to grow without forgetting the  social responsibilities. Pacifica Companies is having that kind of philosophy.

 Pacifica Companies is a reputed real estate property  development company located in India and USA. The corporate head quarter of  Pacifica Companies is located in San Deigo, California, where the company was  also declared as no. 1 builder of the year 2005, and the other offices in  Austin, Tampa and Riverside. Pacifica Companies India started its Indian  operation in 2004-05, with head office in Ahmedabad & regional offices in  New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Company’s Real Estate Portfolio includes Residential  Projects, Hotels, Office buildings, Industrial buildings, Retail shopping  centers, Mixed-use developments and Land development projects in India as well  as in USA. Pacifica has an extensive track record of residential projects that  include land entitlement, single family ground up development, master planned  community development, residential towers, condo conversion, and multifamily  for sale and rent projects in the cities like Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai,  Pune and Bangalore. The business park in Delhi located at the industrial hub,  Gurgaon is one of the best commercial property development projects of Pacifica. The Hotel Projects  of Pacifica are located in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Pacifica Tech  Park is 1.1 million sq.ft. State-of-the-art integrated IT  Park being developed on 7.29 acres of land in the fastest growing corridor of  Chennai – the Old Mahabalipuram Road. This IT Park project caters to the  specific needs of the Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing  (BPO) segments. Pacifica seeks to develop townships development projects in some of the  major cities that are experiencing rapid developments. Presently, Pacifica – a township  development company, has plans to create townships in Chennai, Hyderabad and  Ahmedabad. Pacifica in the United States has an extensive mixed use development  projects that include numerous acquisitions of existing projects development  and property development. Pacifica has always looked for real estate synergies  from multiple uses on a property. Thus, if you are planning to own a real  estate in India or in USA, you can ask Pacifica Companies and get necessary  details about real estate development projects and decide accordingly the best  possible deal.