Flipping Real Estate Content Index - Page 1

Flipping real estate means to buy a property at below market value and sell it at a higher value. During the recent real estate boom, many people bought investment properties and got into flipping real estate. Now people flipping real estate may be buying foreclosures. Flipping real estate also has a negative meaning, where some investors falsify documents to connect an inflated value to the property. When flipping real estate it's important to consider the tax implications.

How do you know if you're the victim of a real estate fraud, a housing scam or mortgage fraud? A reader listed his house for sale with an investor who was also a Realtor. The investor/Realtor transferred ownership of the homeowner's property to himself using a quit claim deed, but left the homeowner on the hook for the mortgage. Is he the victim of a housing scam or mortgage fraud?

In its 2008 survey of mortgage fraud, the FBI concluded there is a strong correlation between mortgage fraud and distressed real estate markets. Indeed, some of the states with the highest levels of mortgage fraud also had the highest levels of foreclosures. But new mortgage fraud scams emerged in 2008 that tested the abilities of the FBI to contain them. Here is a look at the newest mortgage fraud scams.

Mortgage fraud and mortgage scams increased dramatically in 2008, as homeowners found themselves pushed into mortgages they couldn't afford, or lenders realized they had approved loans based on false premises. The survey found that mortgage fraud complaints surged in 2008. At least 63 percent of all pending FBI mortgage fraud investigations during FY200 involved dollar losses totaling more than $1 million. There were nearly 64,000 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) filed in FY2008, with losses of more than $1.4 billion, an increase of 83 percent over FY2007.

For some, buying a fixer-upper and trying to flip it or refinance it is still the name of the game. But once you have fixed it, you need to find financing. You can try to refinance the home. Or you can try to get a conforming loan along with a home equity loan or line of credit (HELOC). You may have options, but you need to find the right lender. You need to make sure that the home has enough equity to refinance and that the appraisal of the home meets or exceeds the amount required to refinance the property.

Are real estate investment courses are a scam or the real deal - specifically Carleton Sheets' methods. Ilyce says she's read Sheets' real estate investment book, but finds others easier to read. Ilyce recommends other books on real estate investment to the reader that she feels are better.

Although the real estate numbers for November show that the real estate market is slowing down, it still looks as if 2006 will be a strong year. Ilyce gives you some advice about how to manage you largest asset while keeping these new market trends in mind.

Paying your credit card bills online makes bill-paying a snap, but make sure you keep track of your records. Quicken is one financial program that allows you to keep track of the credit card bills you pay online. By keeping track electronically of the credit card bills you pay online, you keep your credit score and credit history in good standing, keeps your personal finances in order, and prevents late payments.

If you buy condominium and sell without living it you must pay capital gains tax. You may also have to pay "short-term" investment taxes if you didn't own the condo for at least a year. You must pay the marginal tax rate, which could be as high as 35 percent because it's considered a short-term investment, and you must pay capital gains tax. If you keep the condo longer, you would be able to claim the condo as a long-term investment and pay less taxes; and if you had lived there for 2 years, you would be able to claim capital gains.

There are several decisions to make when flipping real estate - should you pay capital gains tax or should you apply for a 1031 exchange, borrow against the property and keep the land. Having to pay capital gains tax may be a factor in a property owner's decision to keep the land and apply for a 1031 exchange. Using a 1031 exchange, the owner would decide against flipping the property, and borrow against the land to finance other investments.