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Mortgage loans, tanks to the upsurge in the number of alternative lenders, are now available to more homebuyers than ever before. Hundreds of thousands of would-be homeowners who would, in past years, have been turned down for mortgage loans by banks and other traditional lenders are now eligible for home loans, in spite of their spotty credit histories. Alternative lenders have reached out to this neglected market.

Many professional investors are constantly on the lookout for ways to diversify their capital and raise their rates of return, and when the stock market starts to look over bought will pull out some of their money to invest elsewhere. And a good number of them have established private companies to write mortgages for those whose credit records make them high-risk buyers. These buyers, if they default on their mortgage payments, will face the same foreclosure measures from alternative lenders as they would from traditional ones. But they are at least being given an opportunity to become homeowners.

Seller Financed Loans

Another opportunity for those involved in mortgage loans is to buy individual mortgages many homeowners will sell their homes agreeing to finance the buyer, so investors will buy their mortgages to provide them with the cash they need, and will become the recipients of the mortgage payments from the new homeowners.

Investors interested in profiting from seller financed mortgage loans can also locate seller-held notes and approach the holders about selling the notes to mortgage loan investment groups, earning themselves finders’ fees in the process. The amount of their fee will be based both on the size of the mortgage note and the value of the underlying home, and can be anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Getting In On The Opportunity

Finding seller financed mortgage loans therefore can be a very lucrative business. But it is limited to those who can not only locate the notes, but who have access to the investment groups willing to buy them. Not many would-be note sellers really know who these investment groups are, but there is a booming online business among Internet marketers claiming they can, for a fee, tutor wannabe buyers of mortgage loans.

But before you bite, just remember that many people interested in profiting from this aspect of mortgage loans overlook one important fact. Even if they knew where to find the seller-owned mortgages, they are not likely to know how many of those loans are available in a specific area. So paying an Internet marker to share the secrets of how the process works could cost more than the income you might earn from following it.

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Modular homes are an expensive investment and expenditure a large sum of money depending on how outsized a home you want. Modular homes generally cost 10-35% less than traditional houses. If you are offered a better price than that you should make sure it is a modular home and not a mobile home. Also you should be careful to make sure you are comparing the same type of house. Is the square footage the same, the same amount of bathrooms, etc.? The exact amount of your savings will depend on what type of modular home you make a decision on, where it is being created and where is it being assembled. If someone offers you a deal that is too incredible to believe, you should look twice at it.

Modular Homes Are Much Stronger Than Traditional Homes:

Yes, modular homes are built stronger than traditional stick built homes but they also experience a lot more initial wear and tear. Each module is shipped on the back of a truck that bounces as it drives along the highway. To ensure a quality home, modular manufacturers will use more screws (instead of nails) and also add glue to joints to increase their strength. Modular homes are generally built stronger than typical stick built homes, but traditional stick built homes also don't endure a long trip. It is hard to prove that a modular home is still stronger after it endures its road trip. But it is easy to see that modular homes are as strong as traditional homes.

Modular Buildings Are Not Hard To Be Financed:

Modular buildings are treated the same as traditional stick built buildings. Mobile homes are more difficult to gain financing due to their depreciation. Modular buildings actually can be better than traditional buildings to finance since they reduce the amount of construction time. The reduced construction time can help business. If a business takes a mortgage out to pay for a new modular manufacturing facility, it can be constructed before the first mortgage payment is due. Thus it can lead to faster payments and less interest charges incurred. Also modular home owners may have an easier time since the manufacturing facility is a known value to bankers and can respond to any requests for plans or quality control. This modular is another example of confusion between modular homes and mobile homes. Here are some links to learn more about modular homes and loans. Lending Tree offers modular home loans. Freddie Mac made a multi-million dollar deal for a large plot of modular homes.

Modular Buildings Depreciate In Value:

Modular buildings appreciate and gain value the same way traditional buildings do. Once a modular building is fully assembled, it is near impossible to tell the difference between it and a stick built home, that is why modular buildings appreciate in value. Mobile homes (which are moveable) do not appreciate in value. That is probably where the confusion comes in with this.

Modular Buildings All Look Identical:

Modular homes and offices can all be customized to seem exactly how you want them. Each modular building manufacturer has thousands of different designs to choose from. In addition you can easily customize the windows, doors, siding, colors etc. Modular buildings make it very easy to have a custom looking home at an affordable price. As for looking ugly, that is up to how you the home buyer chooses to make your home look. Think twice before pinking hot pink as your exterior color on your new home. Modular homes can be anything you want them to be. If you do not see what you want, you should contact another modular home manufacturer.

Modular Buildings Are Unproven And Don't Last:

Modular buildings started to become popular these days The industry has not slowed down and has been continuously constructing and assembling modular homes since then. Many homes that were constructed in the 1950s are still around and have greatly increased in value. Modular buildings are more proven than the traditional construction today. This is because each modular home can be traced to a manufacturer that has a long established successful track record. A traditional building relies on the current construction firm which probably does not have a track record that goes back 50 years (or 60 years in the case of Liberty Homes modular manufacturer). Whoever you decide to build your house make sure to check their credentials. A modular home is considered to be a mobile home for purposes of the GST/HST new housing rebate. A modular home is a factory-built house or building intended for residential occupancy that comprises "modules" with three walls and a roof or ceiling. It has to be equipped with complete plumbing, electrical, and heating amenities, and designed to be moved to a site for installation on a foundation and to be connected to service facilities, and used as a place of residence. In addition, the modules are to be in as finished a condition as possible before leaving the manufacturer's premises, considering that they must be transported. There are many reasons to consider buying a modular home these days.

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Good for the Maryland Public Service Commission for giving 250,000 Maryland residents two free CFLs each to test out this new bulb. Not all compact light bulbs are equal, and most of us know nothing about them - so here's a little information to help when choosing CFLs.

If you are a green-minded person, then by buying the Energy Star label, you will be buying a bulb that has been tested to meet operating, reliability and energy efficiency criteria.

CFLs are more expensive than an incandescent, but considering that CFLs last about 8 times as long as an incandescent, that actually represents a lot of savings.

Also consider this: if you replace a l00 watt incandescent with a 25 watt CFL, you will save a whopping $30.00 for the life of the CFL. (This can vary slightly according to individual state costs).

However, something not very often taken into account is to choose the right type of CFL for each room, or for each situation, if you have more than one lamp. The shade of white is differentiated by the color temperature marked on the bulb.

This is identified by correlated color temperature (CCT) and measured by Kelvin (K). Warmer colors correspond to lower Kelvin numbers, while higher Kelvin numbers indicate a cooler, bluer light.

Mostly you will find a limited choice, and most CFLs on the market are 2700-3000 K and project soft white or "warm" light. These bulbs enhance any warm colors such as red, yellow and orange that may be found in the home.

For optimal reading, choose a bulb with a slightly higher K rating (up to 3500 K), but as that K rating increases (to 4100, 5000 and 6500K) the effect is increasingly white to bluish light that enhances cooler colors such as blue, green and violet.

These higher K-rated lights are often referred to simply as "daylight".

If you are happy with the type of lighting you have in your home, but would like to economize and help the environment by using CFLs, use the following conversion chart to replace the old fashioned bulbs.

40watt bulbs will equal 9-11 wattage;

60watt bulbs will equal 13-16 wattage;

75 watt bulbs will equal 18-20 wattage.

For the 'green' among us, who have heard that these CFLs contain mercury - this is true. However each bulb contains about 1% of the amount of mercury we may have in one filling in our mouth, so it is considered to be insignificant.

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It is no secret by now that Bulgaria is a boom economy for real estate investment. But that doesn't mean you are going to go in and buy any chicken coop or tool shack in the country. Just as you have always been a good investor in the past, you will have to approach buying in Bulgaria with that same sense of caution and common sense. There are some key tips and questions to ask as you approach this new market so you make sure the money you put into your investment is money well used.

Why are you buying?

There are some basic reasons you might buy property in Bulgaria. You might be buying for your own enjoyment for a vacation home or a retirement villa. The way you look for the best property for that kind of purchase is a lot different from if you are buying on speculation purely to hold the property and then resell it when the market takes off.

In that case, location is a huge factor as prime real estate will be near the thing that will draw customers whether it's the great skiing in the mountains, the exciting nightlife in the city, the vast and clean beaches by the Black Sea or near one of the many golf courses of Bulgaria.

Finally if you are buying land to develop yourself perhaps to run your own small business in the country, that will influence your choices somewhat as well.

Know the ropes

The Bulgarian legal system is ancient and strange. You will need help to figure out how to set up a business entity to be used just for buying land in Bulgaria. But more than that, you need an agent who is both trustworthy and experienced in how to complete this kind of transaction in Bulgaria.

The last thing you need is to think you have completed the transaction only to discover the title is in question for your property. And because titles for property in Bulgaria go back sometimes for centuries, you should have the best and most knowledgeable agent you can find to make sure you can get clean ownership of the property. That agent can also make sure you jump through all of the taxation hoops and to help you navigate issues of communications and language. .

Costs and Prices

Containing your costs is critical to any deal whether it's buying land for a bungalow for your retirement or to build a resort for big profits. So again, your local representation can help you know if you are dealing with reasonable costs for the conduct of your purchase or if you are being gouged.

Similarly, there are factors that will drive prices up or down that you should be aware of so you can balance the costs of when you negotiate versus the value of waiting or negotiating longer. If the price of that beachfront property is going to drop like a stone in February, can you afford the costs of waiting for that adjustment. That's an economic evaluation only you can make.

How much can you get?

The one factor that will remain and overriding principle of buying property in Bulgaria is that right now the prices are as low as they are going to be. Or to look at it in a "glass half full" way, what you pay now will result in huge profits in a year or two or three because of massive economic expansion going on in the country.

So buy as much as you can for the money you have to invest. That means if you can get two acres right now, buy it even if you only need one acre. That extra property will appreciate and give you a good return on your investment when you are ready to sell it.

By being an aggressive negotiator but one who knows the system and how to do business in Bulgaria, you can get your costs down and get the best deal possible right now and get that investment completed before the expanding economy pushes prices higher. Then you will be on the boom side of the equation as the changing economic and political forces in Bulgaria turn that investment into a gold mine for you and your partners.

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