Real Estate Ownership is the American Dream

The heart of the American Dream is home ownership. You begin by making a conscious decision toward home ownership. This is just the first step in the process.

Of course, for you to reach this goal, you must find a way to pay for your asset. Since most people are unable to save enough to pay for their first home outright, they must find a means of financing it. There are several things you should consider before you start this process:

1. How long have you been employed. 2. Have you created a good credit history. 3. Do you pay your bills in a timely manner. 4. Can you afford to increase your debt level at this time. 5. Have you obtain a current credit report, reviewed the information, and believe it is accurate.

After you find your first property, you must consider how to finance it. Generally you need a Mortgage. This is a loan from a bank or other lending institution. The loan will consist of a principal and interest payment. The principal you pay monthly reduces the balance of your loan. The interest is your cost of borrowing the funds and will decrease slightly each month.

The cost of this debt is truly huge. If you borrow $120,000 with a thirty year fixed rate mortgage at a modest seven percent, you will pay $167,000 in interest over the life of this loan. While it is true you will pay some of the interest with future dollars when the dollar will be worth less (inflation), you still have committed to paying an enormous amount of interest for the privilege of home ownership.

Do your due diligence when choosing your mortgage vehicle. There are two basic choices - fixed rate and variable rate mortgages. Within these categories are other options for you to consider. The amount of interest you actually pay varies while your expenses are continuing to rise.

Weigh the pros and cons of each mortgage type before you decide. I suggest you take the time to do this research and reach a tentative decision before you find the property you just must have. Once you find the property, emotion takes over and you may not make the best decision in your excitement.

Two issues to consider before moving forward are:

1. Fixed or adjustable rate mortgages 2. How much financial risk are you willing and able to take on?

If you take an adjustable rate mortgage, you are gambling more than someone who stays with a fixed rate mortgage. You need to consider :

1. Job stability 2. Income stability 3. Interest rates 4. Can you afford the maximum payment based on the lifetime cap on the adjustable rate mortgage. 5. Your stress level. Only take on what you can deal with comfortably.

Be conservative in your choices for your first property and the vehicle you use to finance it. When you are ready, you can use a Mortgage Payoff vehicle to eliminate your debt much sooner. This will put you in a position to buy more/larger properties in the future.

Real Estate Negotiation - The Art Of The Compromise

Real estate negotiation is a book-length subject, and one of those reasons why it can sometimes be a mistake to sell your property on your own. A good real estate agent, after all, should have some good negotiating skills learned from experience. However, there are some things you can learn a piece at a time, and this is one of them.

Of all the techniques of real estate negotiation, and of negotiation in general, the compromise is one of the most common. In fact, it is so much a normal part of negotiation, that people often forget that it is a "technique." Both sides expect to have to compromise on many points, and it is the easiest way to settle a difference. How you arrive at that compromise, though, is crucial.

Negotiating A Compromise

It is common for someone to say something like, "Look, we're only $6000 apart now. You want to $204,000, and I want $210,000. Why not split the difference and make it $207,000?" This idea of "splitting the difference" has become a cultural norm. Even if it isn't agreed to, it seems reasonable and non-offensive to suggest it.

The question however, for the smart negotiator, is how this "difference" is arrived at. Where did negotiations begin, and how did they proceed? Did you start at $230,000, and the other side $200,000? Did you give a little or a lot at each step? What about the other side?

Using the example above, suppose you had only dropped your price to $216,000, instead of $210,000. The difference between that and the $204,000 on the other side would be $12,000. In this case, "splitting the difference," would mean a price of $210,000. You can see that it's important what you do before the compromise.

Obviously, extreme initial positions can help here - if you don't just chase the other side away. Buyers use this technique all the time, and it works. An investor doesn't expect to get a property for 20% less than the asking price, but offering that plants a seed of doubt in the sellers mind as to the value, and it lowers his expectations. He might be happy with a compromise that gets him 10% less than the asking price - even if he would have rejected it out of hand as a first offer.

Moving in smaller increments helps you win a better compromise. For example, as a seller, you can let the buyer come up $2,000 at a time from his first offer, while you drop your price by only $500 with each counter offer. At some point a compromise will be suggested, and it will be at a higher level thanks to your strategic moves.

Being too obvious in using a real estate negotiation technique like this can scare the other side away, though. To make it more subtle, you may want to also negotiate for other points that are of little concern to you. This gives you something to "throw back in the pot" when it's time for a compromise.

For example, if a buyer expressed some interest in having the washer and dryer stay with a house you are selling, you can dismiss the idea - even if you have no use for them. This gives you something for later. When the buyer hesitates over a proposed compromise, you can say, "Look, why don't you take the washer and dryer too, and we can sign this right now."

Certainly you should learn at least several real estate negotiation techniques if you are investing in real estate or selling your own home. Learning the art of the compromise is a good start.

About a piece of hot cake

million square feet of A grade space coming up in Gurgaon by the end of 2006.


It would be really unfair if one would associate IT and BPO as the only terms with Gurgaon. Besides all the developments which IT and BPO sectors did in Gurgaon, things would not have been possible with a proper infrastructure given to them. The property market in Gurgaon in last 5-6 years has achieved new heights and attracted not only big but small investors also.


The once called sleepy town of Haryana witnessed a boom in real estate in late 90's with the liberalization of the Indian economy. The high disposable income in the hands of employees belonging to the booming service sector in Gurgaon has led to tremendous spurt in demand for Gurgaon properties- both for commercial and residential use. People form all the spheres of life are coming in droves which has helped in giving Gurgaon a cosmopolitan look.


With space and traffic as perennial problem in Delhi, the spur was to find place with better living condition which would not only be spacious but also an easily accessible to the National Capital. In this very imbroglio Gurgaon came as a unanimous and perfect destination not only for the mass but also for MNC companies. Now, Gurgaon showrooms like Sahara mall and MGM metropolitan are the best showrooms in NCR region.


Today in spite of huge corporate houses we see Gurgaon as a best place for shoppers. Some of the country best malls are situated here. The property in Gurgaon has skyrocketed over the past decade due to this burgeoning demand. A majority of the middle class can easily afford their own homes and shops thanks to the easily accessible loans these banks provide. With the opening of shops, retail houses and malls people living in Gurgaon do not have to move Delhi for buying every tit-bit they need. This has eventually given local trade in Gurgaon a great boost and has served as an impetus for business people to look for a new venture here.


When it comes to pricing and property in Gurgaon is selling like hot cakes. Property in Gurgaon is more of an investment with average residential flat is 2700 to 3000 per square feet. The price appreciation in Gurgaon is fairly stable and is 20-30% of the projects started way in 2004. Altogether 5 million sq ft of grade A space is expected to come into the Gurgaon market by the end of 2006 with large floor plates ranging from 20,000-1, 50,000 sq ft. The majority of these commercial buildings are targeted at IT-ITES companies, Mall builders and Showroom Owners.

Is the Marketing of Your Property Working?

When marketing just about anything, it can sometimes be hard to tell if it is working. When it comes to trying to sell your property, there are a few ways to gauge the results.

Is the Marketing of Your Property Working?

If you are determined to sell your property, marketing is going to be the key. There are many ways to get the word out about your property. The best methods are generally agreed upon, to wit, get an online listing, get listed in the local multiple listing service, place for sale signs around the neighborhood and tell just about anyone you know. While these tactics may be accepted strategies, how do you know if they are working? There are a couple of ways to figure it out.

Oddly, the first way to figure out whether you marketing is working is to use common sense. In this case, how many people are coming to look at the property? Even in a slow seller market, potential buyers will come. Do a head count. You should be getting at least a few a week.

A blunt way to determine the effectiveness of your marketing is to pay attention to those realtors. When your property goes on the market, you should be inundated by real estate agents within a few days and you should be very nice to them. The agents are viewing your home to determine if it matches the criteria of any of their clients that are looking to buy. Basically, the agents are lining up to bring prospects to you. Depending on your area of the country, you should expect to receive five to 50 agents. If only a trickle show up, you have a problem.

A more subtle method for evaluating your marketing has to do with confusion. Simply put, you need to listen closely to what potential buyers or agents say when viewing your property. Do they make an mention of something they assumed from your marketing that is not correct? If so, you have a problem and need to address it immediately. This problem arises more than you might think because most real estate advertising is confined to a relatively small amount of space.

At the end of the day, your chances of obtaining a quality offer are only as good as your marketing material. Stay on top of your marketing and refine it till you get a good response from agents and potential buyers.