Thursday 22 September 2011

Still a great time to buy a home (NY)…no matter what!

For those of you looking into real estate investment as a proven method of high returns, it should be noted that there are remarkable real estate deals available right now in New York State. There has, literally, never been a better time to buy a home (NY), with prices down in some areas by as much as 40 percent.

Folks, I have been doing this for a long time. As the owner of a network of organizations worth more than $1 billion (net, annualized), who has been involved in nearly 12,000 real estate transactions, I can say without a hint of doubt that the opportunity exists right now to get in while prices are super-low, buy a home (NY), and see incredible returns moving forward into the future.

I get a lot of folks who simply don’t get this. They say, “Billy, come on. Why do I want to buy a home New York when the market is as bad as it is right now?” First of all, the real estate market is cyclical. There are sharp dips in value, there are substantial rises in value. The highs and lows are easier to read than the stock market – everyone who gets in now will have time to make the right moves that provide high yields. I understand that there is concern, for some. But the smart players know that home prices have nowhere to go but up – especially for those looking to buy a home (NY).

When it comes to real estate prices, it is widely accepted that surrounding employment opportunity is one of the (if not the most) important factors that determine home values. A low rate of unemployment, combined with high household incomes and several other factors (such as proximity to good universities and creative industries like music, design, TV, publishing, advertising, film) translate into an area that quite simply, is going to feature real estate that holds its value. Nowhere do these specifics exist more than in New York State –which is why I am always telling investors and private lenders that the time is now to buy a home (NY).

We are caught in something of a perfect housing storm right now, to be sure. But, as someone who has had great success as a real estate investor, I think it is important to share some wisdom with folks who may be new to the game. One thing I am always telling folks is this: if you’re bold enough to go cliff-diving, you have to know that the time to jump is not when the waves are covering the rocks beneath you. Even though it seems safe, the truth is that you’d be putting yourself in great peril. The time to jump is (the opposite of what you’d think!) when the rocks are exposed. That way, when you land, you will have timed your jump so that the water is under you when you land.

In other words, timing is everything!

The market seems bad right now, but the truth is that smart investors realize that now is the time to jump (specifically because the rocks are exposed)! When you land, you will see that you have invested in New York real estate that will hold substantial value over time. So buy a home (NY) while the deals are there. Buy a house in Long Island; buy a house in Suffolk County; buy a house in Nassau County…and if you need any advice whatsoever, well, you know where to find me. Happy hunting!

Still a great time to buy a home (NY)…no matter what!

For those of you looking into real estate investment as a proven method of high returns, it should be noted that there are remarkable real estate deals available right now in New York State. There has, literally, never been a better time to buy a home (NY), with prices down in some areas by as much as 40 percent.

Folks, I have been doing this for a long time. As the owner of a network of organizations worth more than $1 billion (net, annualized), who has been involved in nearly 12,000 real estate transactions, I can say without a hint of doubt that the opportunity exists right now to get in while prices are super-low, buy a home (NY), and see incredible returns moving forward into the future.


I get a lot of folks who simply don’t get this. They say, “Billy, come on. Why do I want to buy a home New York when the market is as bad as it is right now?”

First of all, the real estate market is cyclical. There are sharp dips in value, there are substantial rises in value. The highs and lows are easier to read than the stock market – everyone who gets in now will have time to make the right moves that provide high yields. I understand that there is concern, for some. But the smart players know that home prices have nowhere to go but up – especially for those looking to buy a home (NY).

When it comes to real estate prices, it is widely accepted that surrounding employment opportunity is one of the (if not the most) important factors that determine home values. A low rate of unemployment, combined with high household incomes and several other factors (such as proximity to good universities and creative industries like music, design, TV, publishing, advertising, film) translate into an area that quite simply, is going to feature real estate that holds its value. Nowhere do these specifics exist more than in New York State –which is why I am always telling investors and private lenders that the time is now to buy a home (NY).

We are caught in something of a perfect housing storm right now, to be sure. But, as someone who has had great success as a real estate investor, I think it is important to share some wisdom with folks who may be new to the game.

One thing I am always telling folks is this: if you’re bold enough to go cliff-diving, you have to know that the time to jump is not when the waves are covering the rocks beneath you. Even though it seems safe, the truth is that you’d be putting yourself in great peril. The time to jump is (the opposite of what you’d think!) when the rocks are exposed. That way, when you land, you will have timed your jump so that the water is under you when you land.

In other words, timing is everything!

The market seems bad right now, but the truth is that smart investors realize that now is the time to jump (specifically because the rocks are exposed)! When you land, you will see that you have invested in New York real estate that will hold substantial value over time. So buy a home (NY) while the deals are there. Buy a house in Long Island; buy a house in Suffolk County; buy a house in Nassau County…and if you need any advice whatsoever, well, you know where to find me. Happy hunting!

Friday 16 September 2011

Don’t worry about credit, buy a home (NY) on land contract

You know who’s got good credit, right now; in 2011 – four years into the worst housing crisis and one of the worst recessions in the history of the United States?
I’ll tell you who.
The Pope and Payton Manning (and Manning’s might even go down a bit in the next couple of weeks)…and that’s about it.
I tell everyone who is on the fence about buying a home (NY) – and all sorts of folks come to me with questions, considering that my job has been to sell Long island homes for upwards of 16 years – I tell each and every one of them: if you’re even just thinking to buy a home (NY), then by all means…buy a home (NY)!
Almost 12,000. That’s the number of real estate transactions I’ve been involved in with The Billy Alvaro Group. Not trying to toot my own horn, but each and every one of those transactions, as you can imagine, has taught me something new about what it takes to buy a home (NY). One thing I hear a lot from folks who are on the fence (and incredibly, there are a lot of folks on the fence – despite deals that are just plain ‘ridiculous,’ literally!), I tell them that you don’t have to worry about your credit.
“What?” They always say, confused, as if they couldn’t really understand what I said…like I wasn’t speaking English.
DON’T WORRY ABOUT YOUR CREDIT!
The fact is that even if you don’t have Larry King’s credit score (err, maybe that’s a bad example), you can still get in on the fast track to buy a home (NY). One in five folks that you see on the street have what is termed a “deep subprime score.” And the numbers of folks with “superprime” scores are becoming just about as scarce as water in San Antone. Due to all of this, lenders have responded by lifting their credit watermark, and the upshot of all of this is that the definition of “good credit” has effectively been altered, forever.
One of the tricks you need to know to buy a home (NY) is that if you buy property on a land contract, which is also sometimes called a ‘wraparound mortgage,’ the bank is not involved in the process. And if the bank is not involved then, well, you don’t have to meet the banks’ standards, do you? As a land contract is simply a private contract between two parties who agree to express terms, which involve monthly payments and accrued interest over time, the seller on a land contract essentially serves as his own mortgage banker.
A seller might do this for many reasons; maybe he or she faces the daunting task of trying to sell an ugly house, or a house that might not pass the inspections required by a more conventional lender. Maybe the seller just plain needs to sell – there’s a lot of that going on right now (and even though it seems like a sad situation for some, the truth is that it helps folks in trouble out a lot when they remove the burden of being underwater on a mortgage).
Of course, there is a little bit more to it than just saying, ‘don’t worry about your credit.’ You can’t just snap your fingers. You need to make sure the land contract gives you some protections. For instance, make sure to structure the land contract so that the payments are divided so that you can remain in control of your destiny, so to speak. There is more you need to know, and all you have to do is give me a buzz anytime.
To quote an old science teacher of mine, “It’s not magic, but it is real!”
If you want to buy a home (NY) – even if you’re the type whose computer starts to cough up smoke and flash the word “overload!” over and over when it’s compiling one of those online credit scores – then you can buy a home (NY)! Look for a land contract…and don’t forget to call me if you need some help.

A wakeup call, via Mother Nature

Gee whiz…for all of you fellow East coasters out there, and for all Americans in general, you know what a harrowing week it has been. Thank god, most of us were fortunate enough to escape the real wrath of Hurricane Irene. Sure, there is lots of flooding to deal with and lots of us have been and will be without power, but – considering what some of the forecasts were – maybe the lack of power and some water in the basement is not the worst thing in the world.
So, ladies and gents, with the worst of it all in our rearview mirror, I think it’s time to take an inventory and reorganize.
One thing we all learned from the experience (sometimes it’s not bad to be shaken at the core) is that our very existence, in fact, is sometimes put in drastic perspective. When we were worried about the prospect of a giant tidal wave of water washing away NYC and large parts of the Eastern seaboard, the fact that we might be a home owner struggling with a mortgage seemed almost irrelevant, didn’t it? We certainly were not, during that period of days, thinking about how to sell a Long Island house, or about how to buy a home (NY).
We were, instead, pretty much keyed in what was a stressful, worrisome and difficult situation. And as much as it was a hard situation to endure, and scary, to boot, we need to try to hold onto this newfound perspective.
I know you are all thinking: “Billy, whad’ya talking about?!”
What I am saying is that now more than ever is the time to assess our situation. We learned the fleeting nature of life (and Mother Nature’s total and blatant disregard for our ‘comfort’) from the hurricane. We learned that some things are more important than having a tip-top lawn and the coolest rec room in the neighborhood.
Let’s hold on to this charge we’ve been infused with – sparked by the fear of knowing that we slid safely past the prospect of a natural disaster. Let’s remember this, and realize that life is too short to spend it all worrying and stressing about trivialities such as not being able to make a couple payments; or struggling and stressing over financial troubles that are not even your fault.
What I am saying is, we’ve had a wakeup call.
Use it to your advantage. Let it motivate you to get out of your rut and to buy a home (NY).
If you are, for instance, a home owner who is really struggling to make your mortgage payments, well, heck…get out from underneath it. Life is too short for that kind of bad noise. Contact a qualified short sale expert, such as myself, and get cash-in-hand. That way, you can jump back into the market; find a better deal and buy a home (NY) that you can manage (Lord knows, there are lots of deals out there right now) and start the rest of your life over, with a fresh perspective.

Monday 12 September 2011

A wakeup call, via Mother Nature

Gee whiz…for all of you fellow East coasters out there, and for all Americans in general, you know what a harrowing week it has been. Thank god, most of us were fortunate enough to escape the real wrath of Hurricane Irene. Sure, there is lots of flooding to deal with and lots of us have been and will be without power, but – considering what some of the forecasts were – maybe the lack of power and some water in the basement is not the worst thing in the world.

So, ladies and gents, with the worst of it all in our rearview mirror, I think it’s time to take an inventory and reorganize.

One thing we all learned from the experience (sometimes it’s not bad to be shaken at the core) is that our very existence, in fact, is sometimes put in drastic perspective. When we were worried about the prospect of a giant tidal wave of water washing away NYC and large parts of the Eastern seaboard, the fact that we might be a home owner struggling with a mortgage seemed almost irrelevant, didn’t it? We certainly were not, during that period of days, thinking about how to sell a Long Island house, or about how to buy a home (NY).

We were, instead, pretty much keyed in what was a stressful, worrisome and difficult situation. And as much as it was a hard situation to endure, and scary, to boot, we need to try to hold onto this newfound perspective.

I know you are all thinking: “Billy, whad’ya talking about?!”

What I am saying is that now more than ever is the time to assess our situation. We learned the fleeting nature of life (and Mother Nature’s total and blatant disregard for our ‘comfort’) from the hurricane. We learned that some things are more important than having a tip-top lawn and the coolest rec room in the neighborhood.

Let’s hold on to this charge we’ve been infused with – sparked by the fear of knowing that we slid safely past the prospect of a natural disaster. Let’s remember this, and realize that life is too short to spend it all worrying and stressing about trivialities such as not being able to make a couple payments; or struggling and stressing over financial troubles that are not even your fault.

What I am saying is, we’ve had a wakeup call.

Use it to your advantage. Let it motivate you to get out of your rut and to buy a home (NY).

If you are, for instance, a home owner who is really struggling to make your mortgage payments, well, heck…get out from underneath it. Life is too short for that kind of bad noise. Contact a qualified short sale expert, such as myself, and get cash-in-hand. That way, you can jump back into the market; find a better deal and buy a home (NY) that you can manage (Lord knows, there are lots of deals out there right now) and start the rest of your life over, with a fresh perspective.

Monday 5 September 2011

Grow up folks, ‘Ugly’ is just a four letter word…

As a trusted financial consultant and a real estate investment expert who is asked a couple questions here and there about foreclosed homes ny, my conversations do generally lend themselves to those involving calm, casual and personable discourse. People ask me for my advice. I tell them what I think. If they ask me to back up what I’ve said, then I do that – in the only way I know how.

What I am saying here, folks, is that – even when I get particularly worked up trying to prove a point, and even if I happen to be real passionate about helping folks sell a house in Long Island – most of the time I find myself engaged in normal, reasonable discussions.

Well…most of the time.

In founding The Billy Alvaro Group, a network of organizations I have created that are worth over $1 billion (net, annualized), we have closed over 12,000 real estate transactions and we have helped almost as many families. Part of our success, is the fact that we don’t consider any potential real investment a bad one. Even when it comes to the sale of ugly houses…

To us, there is no home too ugly or broken down; and one time, a few years ago, I tried explaining that on the phone to an old fellow who was a distressed home owner who, quite simply, COULD NOT and would not believe that I was seriously interested in buying his home. It was an awkward conversation, and it went something like this:

Old man: “Who is this, now? I don’t like getting these prank calls, see? You kids today!”

Billy: “No, please, sir. Hear me out. I am serious, I am an investor and I want to talk to you about buying the house on Hill Street --”

Old man: “Baaaah! Investor, shmestor. No one’s lookin to buy that old house. It’s four walls and some floorboards!”

Billy: “Please, sir. If you would just hear me out--”

Old man: “Sheila Marie!” I hear him yell to someone in his vicinity, “there’s some xxxxxxx quack here on the line – says he wants to buy that old fire pit on Hill Street!”

Sheila Marie: (Muffled) “He must be a xxxxxx crazy! Hang up the phone!”

What ensued was about three or four minutes worth of argument between the two that is wholly unfit for print – I hung on as long as I could before hanging up and shrugging my shoulders.

The point is, that even if you are sure that your ugly house has little value, the fact is that you are wrong. An experienced real estate investor, with a strong working knowledge of how to sell a house in Long Island – an investor who understands the impact of the myriad foreclosed homes (NY) and what it means to the marketplace – can help you sell your ugly house. No matter how dilapidated, broken down and worthless it may seem to you.