Though the real estate market has been rough all over the country over the past few years, the market for Smith Mountain Lake condos has increased dramatically. Surrounded by the pristine Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, this beautiful destination offer the type of environment that many people crave for relaxation and rejuvenation. Smith Mountain Lake condos are more affordable than ever so living in this lovely area has now become a possible dream for many who thought they could never have a condominium in the mountains.

A mild climate and breath taking views draw many people in to look at Smith Mountain Lake for a first or vacation home. The selection of condominiums and homes built around the lake are diverse with many designs to choose from. The price range of the condominiums also varies greatly which can be a great investment opportunity for you. When you are not enjoying the exciting life of lakefront condo living, you can rent or lease your condo which will probably pay for your new vacation home in the mountains. Purchasing Smith Mountain Lake condos can be a great investing opportunity.

The enormous lake covers over thirty square miles of southwest Virginia and was designed to prevent flooding and to generate electricity for the greater area. The artificial lake was finished in 1966, taking almost two and a half years to build. Though the beautiful lake has a purpose, the area surrounding it is just as beautiful–almost as if the lake had formed naturally. Condos and custom homes accentuate the beautiful shoreline’s landscape, giving people a wonderful home to live in without disturbing the natural scenery.

The demand for vacations in the area has increased over the last few years as many visitors to the area purchased real estate along the shoreline. The tranquility of lakefront living is unmatched by most other options that people have. Having a condominium at the lake is like a dream come true, removed from the hustle and bustle of urban life but still close enough to cities such as Roanoke to be able to enjoy the amenities. The prime location has increased the demand for Smith Mountain Lake condos since it is just a short commute to the city.

The lifestyle of living on the scenic lake and the closeness to the city make purchasing Smith Mountain Lake condos a great real estate investment. The demand for condominiums in this popular area will likely grow for years to come as people discover SML’s natural beauty and fun, laid back lifestyle. Even if you don’t choose to purchase a condo at the lake, be sure to take a vacation there sometime. You will be glad you decided to visit!

Get more information about Smith Mountain Lake Condos, as well as local events, insider tips and lake information.

At present, the South Edmonton Common shopping centre has 2.1 million in retail area square footage. Properties include Home Depot, Walmart, a Loblaw Superstore and IKEA. The stake purchase by CREIT contains 60,000 feet of completely developed space for lease, property being redeveloped, as well as land designated for development. Current tenants in this space are Petro-Canada, The Keg Steakhouse and Tim Hortons/Wendy’s. These properties have an average of eight years remaining on their leases in the shopping centre.

When completely developed, it is estimated that the total area available for lease in the property bought by CREIT will be in the neighbourhood of 550,000 square feet. The overall investment is projected to be approximately $65 million. CREIT President and CEO Stephen Johnson noted that South Edmonton Common has become one of the most successful outdoor shopping centers in Canada. Grosvenor Canada, Ltd. and Cameron Development Corporation first developed the property. Cameron will continue to be the owner of the 50 percent interest in properties not acquired by CREIT. The corporation will continue in its position of development manager for any undeveloped retail land purchased by CREIT.

Ryan Philipenko
Edmonton Commercial Agent

If you’re anything like me, you were unable sleep and you kept your spouse up to all hours of the night plotting and planning, scheming and dreaming, laying the foundation for what you knew was going to be your coronation into the real estate investor’s Hall of Fame.

What happened to your dream?

At what point did you begin questioning the legitimacy of real estate investing as a viable means of reaching your financial goals and attaining the success you had in your sights when you first took the plunge? When did self doubt and apprehension enter into your daily thought processes? When did the naysayers, the pundits, and the skeptics hijack your dreams and derail your vision and your hope for a better tomorrow?

You didn’t intentionally become a doubting Thomas and begin thinking the skepticism exhibited by your friends and family was a harsh reality you had to contend with. However, the never-ending drumbeat of negativity and snide comments began to take their toll. Eventually, your logical mind — fueled by the eager participation of people who would rather see your dream die than confess their own lack of motivation to improve their lives — began to accept their arguments and you eventually set aside your dreams and settled for a lifetime of mediocrity. When did that happen?

Do you even remember anymore?

What if you could clearly see a future unobstructed by financial fears, money worries, and a tendency to always see the glass as half empty?

What if your goals were more than a pipe dream, but a laundry list of tasks to be completed in the near future?

What if you were to get your books, training materials, and motivational tapes off the bookshelf, dust off your list of goals, reassess your dreams, and try it again?

What if you were to realize that it’s human nature to accept mediocrity and deny yourself the courage to take the steps necessary to achieve success?

What if you were to sit down with your spouse or significant other and remember together what initially sparked your interest in real estate investing and kindled a desire for a raging inferno of real estate investing success?

What if you don’t make the effort?

Will your life ever be the same? Will you sleepwalk through the remainder of your life and settle into a routine of struggling to pull yourself out of bed every morning, dreading the monotony of your daily grind, and hoping you can simply survive until the weekend? Will you suffer needlessly through years of the same daily routine until one day you can clock out for the last time, tiredly walk through the door of your not-yet-paid-for home and collapse into an easy chair – and wait for your impending appointment with the Grim Reaper?

What if your goals could all be reached within the next 12 to 18 months? What if you were to rededicate yourself to not only achieving your dreams and reaching your goals, but in surpassing them, and proving all of the naysayers in your life wrong? What if your dedication to the achievement of your dreams is the spark that certain members of your family and some of your friends need in order to confront their own fears and take a chance on fulfilling their own dreams?

What if you quit thinking about what might have been or what could have been, or even what could be?

What if you start now?

What do you think?

What it…you just do it?

What if?

Charrissa Cawley has a long standing reputation for excellence as a gifted speaker, real estate trainer and wealth coach. Her strength lies in training entrepreneurs in the areas of real estate, investing and financial literacy. Her passion is bridging the gap between learning and doing. She has helped thousands of entrepreneurs all over the world seeking financial growth by equipping them with the tools, resources and specialized knowledge to succeed. Charrissa offers accurate and proven strategies to investors of all different levels and is the founder of www.reiconferences.com, one of the fastest growing real estate investment training organizations in the US in addition to www.rewexclub.com, the top rated Real Estate Investor Community on the web today.

Leveraged investing:

Major advantage of real estate investment is that you can use other’s person’s money like a mortgage lender and renter to make money for yourself. Rental income covers annual mortgage, insurance, property-tax and maintenance costs.

Tangible asset:

Real estate is considered a tangible asset, unlike stocks which is a paper stock certificate. The steadily rising cost of constructing new homes protects and ultimately enhances the value of existing properties.

Direct control:

Real estate investors have direct control over their investments. They decide the rent, choose tenants and decide on improvements to be made in the house. Real estate investors manage their own assets based on local market conditions.

Limited risk:

Since long term investors want wealth for their retirement years face little downside risk with real estate. Due to increase in population, shrinking household sizes and high divorce rates are expected to fuel increasing demand for places to live for decades to come.

The benefit of inflation

Due to increase in mortgage rates, it has affected home sales and property values. Rising rates have a positive impact on owners of investment properties. You will be surprised to hear that this year there are fewer people buying homes and rise in renters, which heightens demand for rental properties. Since real estate investment tends to slow as mortgage rates rise, it means there is a tight supply of rental homes in the near term. Interest rate hikes are the Federal Reserve Bank’s means to curtail inflation by making borrowing money more expensive. Inflation benefits real estate investors who can raise rents accordingly.

Tax-deferred gains:

Real estate investing provides the same type of tax-deferred advantage of 401(k)s and IRAs. In America, owners aren’t taxed even when there is an appreciation in a home value until the time of sale and after that even they don’t have to pay tax because they can roll their gain into another property. The ability under present tax laws for owners of rental properties to move into the home for a total of two years in any five year period and pay no tax on upto $500,000 in capital gains.

Illiquid investment:

Unlike stocks which can be sold by pressing a button on the keyboard, selling a home make take months and even years and entails considerable costs. If you’re not prepared to tie up your money for years to come, best that you don’t.

Cash-flow constraints:

It would be better if you buy properties whose rental income covers monthly carrying costs i.e. mortgage and insurance payments, property taxes and maintenance costs. New investors are in negative cash-flow situation, meaning the rent doesn’t cover their costs.

Sporadic income and unforeseen costs:

Rental property owners risk is being squeezed on several unforeseeable fronts. The first is tenants who fail to pay their rent in timely manner or not at all leaving it to the owner to cover their mortgage payments, out-of-pocket until they collect the back rent or evict a deadbeat. Major repairs have to be done – such as a new roof, furnace or septic system that can cost well into the thousands of dollars that must be ponied up on the spot.

Jeff Adams is an author for Real Estate Investing Information. He has written articles Real Estate Investments. For information visit our site Real Estate Investment Marketing

Your credit score is nothing more than a numeric indicator of your ability to pay your credit obligations in a timely fashion. The higher that number is, the better of you’ll be when you need to utilize credit for any purpose. The credit reporting agencies have spent millions of dollars analyzing credit data on tens of millions of consumers, and they have developed highly complex systems for grading risk. The result of all of this work is the credit score.

You may not be aware of this, but your credit score is a snapshot in time, because your actual credit score fluctuates on an almost daily basis. With each credit transaction you conduct, you’ll either be positively or negatively impacting your credit score. Did you make your mortgage payment on-time? If so, pat yourself on the back. You’ve just given your credit score a slight boost.

At the same time, paying credit obligations late or having unpaid bills show up on your credit report has a negative effect on your credit score, which will affect your ability to secure favorable terms on credit cards, auto loans, and – mortgages.

Almost every lender uses the credit score as a baseline in deciding whether your application meets their criteria for making a loan. So if your credit score is 679 and the lender requires a minimum score of 680 in order to be considered for the loan, your application will almost certainly be rejected.

That isn’t necessarily the final word on the subject, because many lenders will manually underwrite loans. When this happens, they’ll look at many factors other than just your credit score when making a lending decision. Even if they don’t, there are steps you can take to improve your credit score and increase the odds that your loan might be approved, even if it is at a slightly higher interest rate or with less favorable terms than you were hoping to receive.

In addition, if your current credit score isn’t everything you want or need it to be, there are a number of steps you can take to improve your score. First, get a copy of your credit report – from the three major credit bureaus. By going to www.annualcreditreport.com you can obtain a copy of all three of your reports, once a year for FREE. Because the information contained in your credit report is the basis by which your credit score is derived, it makes sense that you would want to know exactly what information is in it.

When you have these reports in front of you, read through them to ensure that the stories these reports tell accurately reflect your credit history. If they don’t, you can correct this information so that potential lenders have the most up-to-date information about your ability to repay a loan. While there are a variety of hoops to jump through, it’s worth the effort, because your credit score will increase, which will enable you to more easily get the loan approvals you need in order to grow your real estate investing business.

There is much more to getting the loan approvals you need for your real estate investing activities than can be easily discussed in a brief article. This gives you a better idea of what your credit score is good for, and why it is so critical that you maintain a high credit score.

Tap into the opportunities available in today’s real estate market by increasing your financial literacy and by doing everything in your power to improve your credit score. It might seem like a lot of work, but it will easily seem worth the effort when you receive the rate and terms you need to turn a potential property investment into a winning real estate transaction that adds multiple zeroes to your net worth!

Charrissa Cawley has a long standing reputation for excellence as a gifted speaker, real estate trainer and wealth coach. Her strength lies in training entrepreneurs in the areas of real estate, investing and financial literacy. Her passion is bridging the gap between learning and doing. She has helped thousands of entrepreneurs all over the world seeking financial growth by equipping them with the tools, resources and specialized knowledge to succeed. Charrissa offers accurate and proven strategies to investors of all different levels and is the founder of www.reiconferences.com, one of the fastest growing real estate investment training organizations in the US in addition to www.rewexclub.com, the top rated Real Estate Investor Community on the web today.

Though some economists are optimistic that home prices will stay low for the predictable future, other buyer friendly incentives may not stay longer. While these home buyer incentives are still around, it would be a great chance for first-time home buyers to take advantage of these home buyer incentives. See the two reasons why buy now is the right time for first-time home buyers.

First, according to the stats released by one mortgage giant, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage hit a record low at 5.12%, the lowest level since the end of May. In addition, the mortgage titan say that a 5/1 hybrid adjustable rate mortgage, that covers a five-year fix rate then adjusts, had an average rate of 4.57%, making it a record low since January 2005. The credit crisis may have unveiled the risks that involve short-term ARMs but for borrowers who do not plan to stay in their home for more than five years consider this a good option. Young couples would take a five-year hybrid ARM as a good choice if they are likely to transfer after five years to search for a bigger place. But these low rates are not going to stay longer as the increasing budget deficits will likely catapult these rates and push it higher in the next few years.

The second reason why buy now is the first-time home buyers tax credit. The implementation of the economic stimulus package gives first-time home buyers a tax credit of up to $8,000 when they buy a home before the month of December. The good thing about this tax credit is that you are not required to repay. Taxpayers with adjusted gross income that is larger than $75,000, and for married couple with an adjusted gross income that is larger than $150,000, have their credit terminated. On the flip side, you cannot claim the money and use unless you have closed a deal. Nevertheless, in case you need money for down payment, there are state housing finance agencies that you can run to as they offer bridge loan to qualified home buyers.

The credit is refundable, so even if you owe less than $8,000 upon submitting your 2009 tax return, you are going to get a refund for the balance. This makes the credit an important tax break for middle and low income groups who pay little or no federal income tax at all. For you to qualify for this tax break, you must complete a home purchase before December 1. You will be considered as a “first-time buyer” if you have not owned a house in the past 36 months. However, you will be disqualified if your spouse has owned a house in the past 36 months. So if you are in the position that makes you eligible for this window of opportunity, do not let it slip your hand as these great incentives for first-time home buyers is not going to stay longer unless lawmakers succeed in prolonging the tax credit into 2010.

Because of the credit crisis, loan approval has slowed down as lenders have enforced stringent lending standards. So the whole process may take longer than usual to complete a deal. In the past, completing a home purchase is possible within 45 days after signing a contract. But these days, the completing a home purchase may take at least 60 days. Despite the slow grind in the real estate market, this is a great opportunity that first-time home buyers should capitalize. If you have not owned a house and qualify to buy now first-time home buyers tax credit, this is your chance. This may be the chance you will sorely miss if you do not act immediately because the window of opportunity is not going to stay any longer as the situation quickly change in this unstable economy.

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