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How to Rent your Summer Home

It is great having a summer home, where you can retreat from the world as and when you please, isn’t it? But unfortunately all this comes at a price. If you too are finding the upkeep of your vacation home difficult, you should think of renting your summer home. Here are some things that you should know about renting your vacation home brought to you by PropertyQuestionsAnswered.com

1) Where to begin: In order to rent your summer home, it is necessary that you list it with various agencies. Some of these are:

• Your state tourism bureau

• Local travel agencies

• Area newspaper

• Area and accommodation guides

In addition to the above, you can also list your rental summer home on the Internet. There are various websites for rental summer homes where you can list your vacation home. These websites typically offer you two options for listing your summer home for rent. You can either go in for a text based listing where you are allowed to put up a two line description about your summer home, or you can go in for a photo page where you can describe your summer home fully and also upload few pictures of your vacation home. The websites generally charge you some fee for listing with them; find more on such resources at PropertyQuestionsAnswered.com

2) Prepare a contract: If you want to rent your vacation home, you should prepare a contract specifying the terms of rental. This contract should include:

• The duration of the rental

• The rent for the specified period

• The amount of deposit, if any

• Maximum occupancy in the vacation home

Any other individual terms that you may have should be included in the contract.

3) Accepting an offer: If you have received some offers for renting your summer home, you should not pick the first one. Here are some things to watch out for:

• Do the renter’s look trustworthy?

• Are they willing to care for your plants, if any?

• Have they agreed to pay the deposit?

• Are they willing to give you advance rent?

Once you get satisfactory answers to these questions, only then should you agree to rent your vacation home.

4) Offering tips and suggestions: In order to get your summer home on the most wanted list for rentals, you should provide some helpful tips and suggestions to prospective renters. You can make a small book that lists the various places to see around the area. You should list all the activities that are available to people. You can also tell them what temperatures and climactic conditions to expect at different times of the year, and how best to enjoy renting your summer home. You even need to list down all emergency numbers such as the plumber, electrician, etc.

5) End of rental period: Once the period for rental of your summer home has ended, you should ensure that the renters have not caused any damage to your home and leave it exactly as they found it. Any damages can be deducted from their deposit.

Mumbai Real Estate â?? Presenting New Opportunities

November 13th, 2009 FlatsForRent-London No comments

Mumbai is the most desired city for buying, selling or renting a property in India. A teeming metropolis, it has witnessed a burgeoning demand and supply of properties over the last couple of years. It is widely recognized across the world as an IT and ITES hub. This has resulted in high property prices in Mumbai which are now comparable to prices in cities like London, New York and Tokyo.

Locations in Mumbai like Worli, Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and Lower Parel have seen rising demand in Grade-A office buildings. Andheri East and Nariman Point have also witnessed the high number of occupancy over the past few months about 90-95 per cent. There has been an increase of about 15-35 per cent in values for commercial properties and about 40 per cent in Mumbai residential properties.

Malabar Hill, Breach Candy and Altamount Road continue to be Mumbai’s golden triangle. Residential properties in these areas sell in the range of Rs 30,000 to 50,000 a sq ft. With Mumbai real estate developers promoting sprawling townships, malls, software parks and office complexes across the city, places like Dharavi has seen a sharp rise in its property prices. A one-bedroom-hall-kitchen (BHK) house in the congested by lanes of Dharavi is to fetch at the same prices as in Kandivli or Borvli. Surprisingly, a 225 sq ft house, in the area would come at a high price of Rs 9 lakh. The biggest beneficiary of infrastructural developments have been the eastern suburbs of Navi Mumbai including areas like Kharghar, Airoli, CBD Belapur, and Sanpada which remain viable investment areas. Rates in Navi Mumbai range between Rs.3000 to Rs.5000 per sq ft.

Mumbai being the fashion capital is hit by the retail buzz too. With the opening up of the retail market, there has been a growing demand for Mumbai Properties in retail. The retail stores and malls are either owned by some business group or leased for hefty prices as the demand is very high. To find out more about Mumbai property and real estate, visit India’s No.1 property site magicbricks.com.

Phenomena of International Real Estate

November 12th, 2009 FlatsForRent-London No comments

Dubai… A great place to live and property investment!

The Dubai Properties and Real Estate Blog is a resource center for international property investors. Being the commercial hub of the Arab world, Dubai saw property boom since 2002 when the government had permitted foreigners to invest in Dubai properties in order to boost Dubai and as well as the whole UAE real estate market.. For a few years now, some have been saying that the Dubai property bubble was about to burst and that a property crash was just around the corner. Yet, prices kept increasing and such doom mongering proved unfounded. The Dubai property market is unique in many ways, and as such doesn’t follow the general rules of other property markets around the globe and other Middle East property markets. The current rate of return on UAE property investments is in the region of 10 – 15 percent per annum, with this rate expected to continue for the foreseeable future, and rental yields in excess of 10% are further evidence of strength in the property market. The growth in the tourism industry of Dubai has been phenomenal with the 3.4 million visitors in 2001 expected to rise to over 6 million in 2010 – from a standing start the area is becoming a magnet for overseas visitors. Many of Dubai’s property developments set out to emulate the most prestigious residential addresses in the world. However, the less glamorous middle-income gulf or Middle East real estate market is increasingly drawing the attention of savvy investors. Dubai Properties is one of the biggest and has said it will deliver 5,000 units to the freehold market in 2008 which is not nearly enough to meet surging demand. Abu Dhabi property market will not deliver a single new real estate unit this year, and deliveries will only start late in 2009, and that creates additional demand in Dubai.

The Mediterranean island of Malta has recorded the strongest growth in property prices from countries in the European Union, and recent news could help see property inflation in double figures for the next few years. Malta is not only a tax efficient location with beautiful costal properties for sale or rental, but its warm climate, beautiful sea and days full of sun will help you relax and retire in a friendly and safe environment for Mediterranean property investment. Sustained property inflation at levels seen in Malta are rarely seen in other countries, but new economic activity on the island could see property demand at good levels for some years to come. The introduction of low cost flights to Malta from the UK will open up the possibility of more international real estate investors looking at the island for holiday homes that could be used for long weekends, and the Malta hotels industry could reap the benefits of the 3 and 4-day tourist seeing the island as a viable place to visit. After some years of wondering how Malta property market would fit into the modern world, property agents, hotel owners and the Malta holidays industry are beginning to see the future with some optimism.

Due to the gains in housing equity in the past 20 years, more people have been seeking to invest in housing, rather than other forms of investment. In the UK there has been a rise in the number of private buy to let investors. Similar to an increase in the buy to let sector, there has also been an increase in demand for houses from oversees property buyers. This has had a significant effect in boosting real estate demand, especially in London. In terms of land mass the UK is an incredibly small country yet it attracts amongst the highest levels of immigration in the world. the supply of property is always restricted in the UK and that exaggerates price swings and ensures a recovery. Those more patient buyers from Arabia will find themselves well rewarded.

Insider’s guide to bargain real estate: The complete guide to buying properties below market value (Unknown Binding)

November 5th, 2009 FlatsForRent-London No comments

Insider's guide to bargain real estate: The complete guide to buying properties below market valueNo description for this product could be found, but have a look over at Amazon for reviews and other information.

Rent or Buy-Rent or Buy Which Could be Better

November 2nd, 2009 FlatsForRent-London No comments

Many face the dilemma, whether to rent or buy their first property. Though, both have their own advantages and disadvantages. The vital clause to note is which is financially viable. Before making a decision on rent or buy, the market conditions should be tested. In a slow market it is not advisable to buy a property as you tend to pay more mortgage than the market value, thereby losing money. This is negative equity. In such cases renting is the best option.
Employment of a person plays an important role in deciding a buy. Always keep in mind the employment opportunities, in case of displacement there is no point investing in a property when the prices are likely to slump in the future. But if the markets are down now and the future is bright then buying a property would be wise decision to make. Market analyzes must be made before you decide on rent or buy.
One could turn to rent when the rent is lower when compared to the mortgage cost of the house. Instead of spending more on mortgage you can rent an accommodation and save on the mortgage.
The catch-22 situation whether to rent or buy depends on economic conditions. However, property prices are also bound to increase in a strong economic climate, therefore by renting a property you may tend to lose out on the profit in the long run. Even though, the real estate is slight on the downward trend there is no doubt it will pick up in the months to come. In such a scenario it is best to vote for buy than rent.
Rent or buy property hinges on the property price. According to real estate estimation, properties prices are up twofold every ten years, so the quicker you buy double are your capital gains. This way you future is secure. In the present trend it is a buyers market where the buyer can negotiate the property price, and it will definitely turn out in his favor. Another advice on rent or buy is that to buy a property that comes cheaper, here you can save money when the market is falling. Since you have bought it for less you can protect yourself from a major financial downfall.
Rent or buy based on your location. There is nothing wrong in buying a property unless you are planning to shift in a year or two. If you have decided on a permanent location the first thought that should come to your mind is buying a property, where instead of rent your repay your loans and finally the property is transferred to your name. Assuming you are planning to get transferred in few years from now then the best option would be rental accommodation. You can save money and buy a house once you retire. There is no point investing in a location you are not going to live there.
In any case a detailed study of the real estate market condition is very essential before deciding on rent or buy. Consider your financial position, your job, family circumstance and health before actually coming to a conclusion on rent or buy.

Is Now the Time to Buy or Rent?

October 21st, 2009 FlatsForRent-London No comments

Should you buy or rent? It depends on your circumstances, and the real estate market where you are going to live. Years ago, I sold a home for a young couple who owed almost as much as the sales price on their house. They needed to take money from savings to pay the closing costs and sales commission. You can bet that they wished they had rented for the couple years they lived there.This brings up the first thing to consider when comparing buying versus renting: the amount of time you’ll be there. Buying and later selling a home will usually cost about 10% or more of the value of the home. These costs mean that if the home only went up in value 10% or so in the year or two you lived there, you won’t be gaining anything (equity gain from principal pay-down is very little in the first years). You’ll often be better off renting if you’ll be in a town for less than a few years.What about towns with faster rates of appreciation? Have you done some serious homework? If not, to assume appreciation will be more than the rate of inflation is just gambling. The sellers in the example above sold for the same price they bought the house for two years earlier – and this was in a decent and growing area. You can’t count on fast appreciation just because it has been that way recently.To Buy Or Rent – Cost ComparisonLooking at buying versus renting, you have to take into account that in many places it cost much more to buy. In Tucson, Arizona, for example, a small home can cost $200,000. The mortgage payment, taxes, insurance and maintenance will add up to about $1,600 per month, but you can rent the same size home for about $800. What does that mean? Many real estate fanatics will say you’re at least buying something for your money, and renting is throwing your money away. Of course in this example more than $1,000 of your payment will be going towards interest alone, and that’s not buying you anything. Suppose you can afford the $1600 per month, but instead you rent for $800 and put the other $800 into a decent safe investment that makes you 5%? In three years you’ll have over $30,000 in this account. If the home appreciated at 6% per year (it has been more like 25% per year recently, but that can’t continue, and assuming so is not planning, but gambling), it would be worth $231,000. The costs of initially buying it and then selling it would be around $13,800 (2% buying and 6% selling), leaving you with a gain of about 19,000 once we include your principal pay-down.In other words, you would be at least $11,000 better off if you rented and banked the difference. Every market is different, of course, so you have to do the math. Compare the total costs of owning versus renting, and then make safe assumptions about the rate of appreciation for homes.If you’ll definitely be in one place for a long time to come, it will almost always be better to buy than to rent. In the last example, buying becomes a better bet after about four or five years. Also consider that if you get a fixed rate mortgage, your payment will never change, a benefit landlords won’t offer you that on your rent payment.To sum up, look at the time you’ll be there, the comparison of total monthly costs, whether rents are going up fast, and whether you have good reason to believe home prices will be going up fast. Then look also at all the personal factors. Do you want to be responsible for the maintenance, yard work and unpredictability of ownership problems? To buy or to rent? In the end, you have to work this one out by yourself.