Robert Allen Institute 10 Websites Every Real Estate Investor Should Have Saved In their Favorites 1. REALTOR.com The official site of the National Association of REALTORS ® (NAR). Access to over 4 million listings across the country. Listings are updated daily. Advanced search tools to customize your search. Additional resources including price trends, market conditions, financing calculators. www.realtor.com TIP: Sign up! Create an account, save your searches and listings and get email alerts on properties you are watching. 2. hud.gov This is the government website for the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. The site is packed with useful information, articles and tools related to buying, owning, selling and renting real property. It also has up to date news on government initiatives and other factors affecting the housing market and details on available government grants and housing programs. www.hud.gov TIP: Check out the link to www.homesales.gov on the home page. This will take you to a listing of HUD homes for sale.
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Robert Allen Institute10 Websites Every Real Estate Investor Should Have Saved In their Favorites
1. REALTOR.com
The official site of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). Access to over 4 million listings across the country. Listings are updated daily. Advanced search tools to customize your search. Additional resources including price trends, market conditions, financing calculators.www.realtor.com
TIP: Sign up! Create an account, save your searches and listings and get email alerts on properties you are watching.
2. hud.gov
This is the government website for the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. The site is packed with useful information, articles and tools related to buying, owning, selling and renting real property. It also has up to date news on government initiatives and other factors affecting the housing market and details on available government grants and housing programs. www.hud.gov
TIP: Check out the link to www.homesales.gov on the home page. This will take you to a listing of HUD homes for sale.
3. federalhousingtaxcredit.com
This site is hosted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Comprehensive and easy to read explanation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the available tax credits for first time home buyers.www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com
TIP: Investors- you might not qualify but you can use this information to help first time buyers buy your properties!
FannieMae (The Federal National Mortgage Association) is charged with increasing the supply of mortgage credit available to homeowners and prospective homeowners. The eFannieMae website is packed with information on all things related to financing real estate purchases.www.efanniemae.com
TIP: Check out the lender announcement section for the latest updates, including Announcement 09-02 which increased the number of mortgages an investor can hold from 4 to 10. Read this announcement here: https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/ssg/annltrs/pdf/2009/0902.pdf
5. Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
The FHA, or Federal Housing Administration’s main purpose is to secure housing loans for low and moderate income individuals with bad credit or an inability to make a down payment. Invaluable for helping potential buyers finance the purchase of your investment properties. The site also has a tools and resources that every homeowner and investor should have. www.fha.gov
TIP: Check out the Real Estate section of this site, or go to www.homesales.gov, to search for properties for sale by the U.S. Federal Government.
6. Zilpy.com
If you are considering a “buy and hold” strategy you need to know before you buy if there is a demand for rental properties in the area and how much you can charge. Zilpy.com gives you a fair rent estimate similar to a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) and provides you with an estimated rent range and a list of comparable rentals in the area used to generate the value. It also gives you demographics including renter occupancy and vacancy rates.www.zilpy.com
TIP: Use the advanced search tools to refine your search (# of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage and amenities) to make sure you get the most accurate results.
Great resource for property improvement projects and rehab jobs. Search multiple contractors and service providers from Architects to Lawn care and everything in between. Select the project or service you need help with, submit details and get multiple quotes from prescreened contractors in your area. www.servicemagic.com
TIP: Use the ‘Articles & Tools’ link for additional useful information including project planners, a design gallery and expert advice.
8. AnnualCreditReport.com
This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Your credit score (also called a “FICO score” after the Fair Isaac Corporation that developed the credit scoring system) is used by all conventional lenders in determining eligibility to borrow funds.www.annualcreditreport.com
TIP: You are entitled to one free credit every 12 months. Chose carefully when you want this information. Additional requests are not free.
9. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Everyone is talking about “REOs” or “bank owned properties” but do you know what happens to those properties if the bank that owns them goes under?
The FDIC sells off the assets from failed banks, including real estate, often at bargain prices. www.fdic.gov
TIP: Click on the ‘Asset Sales’ tab, select ‘Real Estate Sales’ and then ‘Bargain Properties’ for a list of properties often offered for under $10,000 !
An objective & impartial site for comparing mortgage loans, home equity loans, credit cards and CD rates and to track mortgage rate trends. Also has an extensive range of amortization, loan and other useful calculators as well as news articles and reports.www.bankrate.com
TIP: This site also has a very useful section on Debt Management to help improve your credit (FICO) score.
