Moving is a challenge even when you are just moving a few blocks. But relocating to a new city is one of the top five major life stresses and can be very nerve-racking, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the area.

Home buyers moving to a new area have the difficult, but critical decision as to what neighborhood will be right for their family. It is easy enough to research local school data and home value information, but it is much more difficult to get a flavor for the local retail an restaurant culture and to spot out nearby parks and recreation facilities.

Opting to rent a home rather than buy immediately is becoming increasingly popular among those relocating to new cities, such as Jesse Singh, an executive at HOV Services. Jesse has recently moved to Denver from Atlanta, the last in a line of three relocations in the past five years.

Jesse was concerned that he would have to move again and not be able to sell his home if that occurred too soon. In addition, although he and his wife have spent a lot of time in Denver hotels, the airport, and the HOV office space, there has been little time in their busy schedule to get to know the Denver metro neighborhoods. My staff at Denver Rent a Home, who are all Colorado natives, were able to alleviate these concerns by finding them a home under a Lease with an option to buy, so that they can take time to get to know the neighborhood without the baggage of a mortgage should they chose to move within the city or need to relocate again.

Another couple and client of Denver Rent a Home recently moved to Denver for a business opportunity and chose to lease vs. buy in part because they couldn’t sell their property in Scottsdale, AZ. They are leasing their property in Scottsdale and leasing a property here, which they felt made a lot more sense for them. As the parents of two young girls they also felt they wanted to get a good feel for living in an area as a family prior to committing to a home purchase.

Rent to own situations are becoming much more popular among my clients, especially those relocating from anther area of the country. It feels great to be able to offer a creative and new choice to my clients, to set them up in a lovely home and get them started right in the community without all the burdens those relocating have had to deal with in the past.

A key component to making the lease option work for you if you are relocating to a new area is to find a local agent who is familiar with the area and committed to the lease option strategy. They will save you a lot of time you’d otherwise spend searching online, making phone calls, or even having to move several times to find an acceptable location.

Its been a long-held belief that it is more financially wise to purchase a home rather than to rent, if you can afford it. However, the past two years have proven that those assumptions have all but vanished and people are finding themselves in unusual territory in the housing market.

While unusually low interest rates and plunging home prices imply that buying a home is the best option, increasing numbers of people are choosing to rent or rent-to-buy instead. However, making the right choice can be difficult.

So, generally speaking, when does it make sense to rent, and when to buy? I find that there are five basic factors to help you decide:

1. Credit Score. If you have a less than perfect credit score, it’s now nearly impossible to get a mortgage loan. In a rent-to-own scenario, renting can give those looking to build their credit history some time to do so while building equity. Conversely, however, those with a high credit score can now take advantage of the lowest interest rates since the 1950s.

2. Cash Flow Needs. It is especially important in the present economic environment to make sure you maintain enough cash to satisfy your current cash needs, and many folks are finding it difficult to come up with the cash needed for a down payment to purchase a home. Monthly rents tend to run lower than a loan payment, and that allows many individuals to meet other monthly obligations without hurting their credit scores.

3. Employment Concerns. I recently read an article by Forbes.com Real Estate columnist Matt Woolsey, in which he said “Given the state of the job market right now, the anchor of full ownership is a heavy one.” I find this to be so true with many of my clients, who are worried they might lose their job. If this is a concern for you, not having to worry about having trouble making your mortgage payments and potential credit damage and foreclosure is a big pro for the rent or rent-to-buy scenario.

4. The Flee Factor. If you have moved to a new city or state recently, or plan to move to a new location, it isnt always a good idea to purchase a home immediately. Renting gives the gift of time to evaluate the surrounding areas in your new city or state without the danger of financial loss by needing to sell soon after you purchased in a declining market.

5. Market Unpredictability. Even in markets that appear to be recovering more quickly, like Denver, the verdict is mixed as to when the real estate housing market will truly come back. A lot of consumers feel more comfortable waiting the market out until the data clears by renting rather than buying.

There are definitely arguments for each choice and the essential component is that you learn all the options to make the best decision for you. An experienced real estate professional can help you ask the questions and discover the answers for you. There are some new and unique options that folks may have not investigated in the past that might be just right in your situation.

Buyers of real estate that include residential properties are often doing so for the first time. If that’s the case, you will need to learn about the finer points of negotiating with the seller for a better price. If you ask for too much, you’ll lose the sale- and with too little you will be throwing your money out the door.

You will have to take a crash course in negotiation to learn the intricate techniques that business men and women use. For instance, the initial value you offer the property owner shouldn’t be too low. If the value you offer is indeed much lower than expectations, you can guarantee yourself that you will have small odds of even getting the seller into the negotation room, as this can be seen as offensive to the seller.

It’s hard to judge the value of a property or home, since there are so many variables that you have to consider. The current real estate market, local conditions, cost of the home, surrounding land, and neighborhood are all large factors to consider. If your research indicates that the value asked by the seller is about right, you might not want to peg down the offer too much to avoid losing it.

One way to bring down the seller’s expectations is to politely discuss anything that would make the property less appealing to the buyer. You could discuss a small property size, any type of infestation, dirty carpets, or other things that would count as something the buyer would not be pleased with. This way the seller is more obligated to appease the lower offer that the buyer has made for the real estate.

The offer you make can be counter-offered, and often is. When you receive a counter to your original offer, you will be safe in assuming that you are either the only one interested, or one of few interested. The seller at this point recognizes your offer, but wants perhaps a bit more to cover their costs in moving or buying a new home. At this point you could deny the counter offer if you are confident that you are the only one interested.

A real estate broker can help you find a good deal if you haven’t ever been skilled in persuasion tactics. Real estate brokers can do the negotiation for you, while you sit back and wait for the numbers to be presented to you. It’s a handy tool, but also costs more money for you.

Closing Comments

Homes are coming down in price dramatically as the baby boomer generation ages. You will be able to find a home that fits your style with a bit of research.

Collecting rent can be a painful experience or a smooth transaction. As a landlord and it doesn’t matter if you’re a good one or bad one, you always want to make this situation can be as smooth as possible and stay within the law of your state when collecting rent for your rental property.

Its safe to make leases so that rent is due on the first day of the month for all your properties. This way, you dont need to keep track of when each tenant should pay rent. When the rent is due on the first day of the month with a grace period with no late fees but if rent is not paid in full or is paid late, you charge a late fee as stated in the lease.

You will have a tenant delays paying rent beyond the fifth day. You have printed in your lease that you can charge an additional amount a day until rent is paid in full. The reason for this is you want to make sure that the rent payment is one of the top priorities for your tenants.

Even in some cases with your best tenants, if their rent is not paid by the fifth day of the month, you have to deliver them a notice to pay or vacate. Its always best to confront all your situations personally and in a nice manner.

When you can deliver these notices to tenants and length of time the notices allow for payment or vacating the premises depends on your state law. But remember, if your tenants have trouble paying you by the fifth of the month, and they promise they will pay by the fifteenth of the month, how are they going to come up with next month’s rent by the first of the following month?

Its best not have or let this situation drag. You want to face the problem head on now and you might be able to salvage a rough spot for you tenant and rental property.

Now in some cases as a landlord, you can make arrangements with tenant to pay you a certain time frame. But you must let them know if they miss one scheduled payment in full, the legal process will unfortunately begin and take it course which would not be good for them because their record would be blemished with an eviction.

Always in a nice way and because its the truth, you can let your tenants know that you have a bank loan and you rely on their rent payment to help make your mortgage payment. Let them know you have a mortgage payment due on the first and the bank doesn’t care whether you collect the rent or not. They just care that the payment is due by the first or they charge a late fee. This approach has gone a long way towards getting the tenant on your side and painting their late fees in a light they understand. So this is why I really can say collecting rent can be a painful experience or a smooth transaction.

When purchasing a new property you can either use a mortgage broker or direct lender. A broker works with multiple lenders and is able to compare rates, turn times, service, etc among lenders. A direct lender will work directly with you. Both utilize loan officers who could be your primary point of contact, answer your questions, help you through the application process, etc. A direct lender can also be a wholesale lender and thus work directly with borrowers, or work through independent brokers.

Realtors may direct a first time home buyer towards a mortgage broker with whom they have a working history. This does not mean that the buyer is precluded from contacting a direct mortgage funding source on their own. The buyer has the ability to work directly with a lender. You can walk right in to a financial institution and make an application for a first mortgage or do so online. Using a search engine on the Internet can help you find a direct lender. Regardless of the realtor’s recommendation, you can approach a direct lender on your own.

A purchase mortgage for a property is not the only types of loan available from a direct mortgage institution. Direct lenders may also provide financial products for refinancing. Refinancing an original mortgage that has a high rate of interest can be very attractive when current interest rates are much lower. This refinancing option can sometimes lower mortgage payments and may be an option worth considering for homeowners, especially if they have an adjustable rate mortgage (also called an ARM). As with purchases, it is easier to refinance a home with good credit scores.

Another option for utilizing a direct mortgage lender is to obtain a loan collateralizing the equity of your current property. For example, if the current fair market value of your home is much higher than the principal balance of your mortgage, that equity can be used as the basis for a loan. These types of loans are often used for major home repairs or renovations. These loans might be called a home equity loan or home equity line of credit (HELOC). Financial institutions making these types of collateralized loans will have a set of criteria to test the applicant’s ability to repay the note.

Whether you are seeking a first mortgage for a new home or just trying to fund some major renovations, you can work with either a broker or a direct mortgage lender. Both utilize a common application form known in the industry as a 1003. Remember - it’s your choice who you use for a home loan.

If its true that there will be more millionaires made during this recession than any other time, you might find yourself asking what the secret is to their coming success. In this article Im going to shade a glimmer of light on the secret.

The millionaires that are made during a recession are people who are out of the box thinkers. These recession made millionaires do not do things the exact way that the main stream way of thinking believe will make you wealthy. If you think about it, it was the main stream way of thinking that got the economy into a recession in the first place.

If you look at businesss that are making the most money today you can see that most of them where founded by out of the box thinkers. Businesss like Google, Wal-Mart, Apple, and the newest Twitter.

Most people dont think they can be out of the box thinkers or dont believe they have these kinds of ideas. So let me help you out with an introduction to the largest market in todays economy, foreclosure investing.

So what kind of business can you start in the current market? With the large foreclosure market ,if you can find a way to invest and help people at the same time, you have a millionaire dollar idea. There is a great opportunity out there for out of the box thinkers!

So how can someone help the economy and the foreclosure market? People who are about to go into foreclosure or already have are looking for help. They are stuck with a house they cant afford and need to sell their house as fast as they can. So they can then find a house they can afford.

So do you see the opportunity to help your neighbors and become a recession made millionaire. You get to help someone save their credit and improve the economy in the process. Great way to think out of any boxes! The less foreclosures out there the better the markets will be and the more real estate sales the better.

If the people who are unable to afford these homes end up losing them to the banks, they will lose their credit and a lot of other things. Most people have a friend or family member who is looking at a foreclosure. Im sure you have thought how great it would be to help them. I believe that there are people out there that will help these people and become a very well liked millionaire.

I truly believe that there will be more millionaires made in todays recession then any other time in history. Everyone needs to do their part to help people who are in trouble and at the same time helping themselves into the millionaire club.

You can become one of these recession made millionaires who think outside the box. All you need to do is find out how to help these people in need. How to purchase these Pre-foreclosures before the banks take them.