Flipping Land

Raw Land Deal – How to Find it and What to Check Before Investing

A raw land deal should be properly investigated and evaluated before making a final decision. Finding raw lands in Maryland may be easy but knowing if they are really worth investing involves immense efforts.

You can find a raw land deal easily through real estate brokers, reading newspapers, attending auctions or taking drives to the potential areas in Maryland. Typically, raw land is available at much lower rates than constructed properties. The biggest advantage of investing in a raw land is that you can use the land as per your will. Once you have found a raw land in Maryland, next step is to check and evaluate if the land is worth investing.

* General environmental factors like clean air, water availability, electricity, sewage disposal, etc. are all important factors that must go into evaluating the deal.

* Collect the most recent information about the land available. Obtain a copy of the deed containing details about any restriction in the area.

* Note the street address, a map or pictures of the land that can give you an idea of the fence lines, roads, building locations, etc. Visit the land personally to confirm and evaluate it. Look for any signs of hazardous waste dumping or other pollution factors.

* Know the owner and collect all the details to contact him. Collect information about his/her address, contact number, and his full name.

* Find out about their profession. Know if he/she deals in real estate business.

* Verify whether the title of the property is in the owner’s name or someone else. Check if anyone else has a right to act on his behalf or he has appointed a trustee of the property.

* Gather information about the annual taxes. Assess the value of the property again.

* Make sure that the owner has all the legal papers of the property.

* Inquire the owner for the reason to sell it. Ask them the duration for which he has held the land and for what purpose.

To sum up, gather all possible information about the land as well as its owner. Buying a raw land may not be an attractive investment for an amateur investor. But most experienced investors in Maryland find it profitable. This is because they can construct a property and flip it. Secondly, they can lease or rent the land and earn monthly income. Just make sure that you pay the right value. Inspect the entire lot of land physically and know the value of land per acre.

By: Lloyd Irvin

About the Author:

[ReviewAZON asin="B0000CCXU3" display="inlinepost"]

Alternatives to Stock Market Investing

The recent downturn in the stock market has caused many investors to look “outside the box” at alternative investments. Not all of these different types of investments can be compiled into your 401k plan, but they are worth looking at.

PRECIOUS METALS:

One of the most reliable safe-havens for your money is precious metals. Gold has long been the standard repository for stashing investment funds. During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt actually made it illegal to hoard gold because people were buying large amounts of the shiny stuff, which hurt the U.S. Dollar. Gold sells at a high premium compared to other metals, such as silver and copper. Gold hit an all-time high around 1980, and it has never eclipsed that peak until 2008, when it surged over $1,000 per ounce. Today, gold is back into triple digits, and given the recent bank collapses and unreliability of the American Dollar, this may be the last chance to see these prices for a long time. Check Nymex.com for current precious metal prices.

There are several ways to invest in precious metals. One is to go down to your local pawn shop or gold dealer and actually purchase coins, bars or other objects made of the desired material. Another method of investing in precious metals is buying shares of mutual funds or other securities that fluctuate with commodity prices. For instance, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) currently trades at around $90 per share, and seeks to closely track the price of gold.

For those who can’t stomach the price of gold, silver and copper are priced much lower than gold, and are used in many industrial applications around the world. Some commodities experts are predicting that silver will outpace gold’s return in the coming years due to silver price suppression in the past.

LAND:

Even though Real Estate prices have generally dropped across the United States, the same can not be said for land prices. Homes have lost up to 20% of their value in the last couple of years as supply outpaced demand. However, land is still very much a desired commodity. It’s usually very expensive to buy large parcels of land in populated communities, but good deals can still be easily found in uncivilized areas. One good thing about investing in land is that due to the ever-increasing population, usable land will continue to become more scarce. One good website for finding cheap land bargains is Land Bazaar, which shows land for sale listings by state. There can be many formidable aspects to buying land, so be sure to due your own due diligence when purchasing any property.

INTERNET DOMAIN NAMES:

Investing in domain names is a relatively new phenomenon, with the first domain names having been created only 20 years ago. While it’s true that most of the “best” domain names were snatched up in the 1990′s, many domains are still purchased and then “flipped” for many times the value of the original investment. One way to start in domaining is to search for unregistered domains using a registrar like GoDaddy or Moniker. It’s a good idea to concentrate on .com domains, as they have traditionally held their value better than the other domain extensions (such as .net or .mobi). Another tip for novice domainers is to search for domains inside a niche that one is familiar with, such as auto parts or mystery novels.

By: Scott Campanella

About the Author:

[ReviewAZON asin="B0017W8CHI" display="inlinepost"]