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Anwell Tsai

Real Estate

What’s the Value of Your Home?

by Anwell Tsai | January 22, 2009

With the ongoing deluge of foreclosures and short sales, it has become more and more difficult to determine what the market value of homes are. The market value is the most probable range of values in which a typical buyer and a typical seller will agree to terms with in an at arms length transation.
Foreclosures and [...]

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Real Estate

Which Property to Buy?

by Anwell Tsai | January 15, 2009

Let’s assume you’ve been presented with two outstanding investment properties to purchase.  Both can be purchased at a great discount and share similar risk profiles, though property A is significantly more expensive than property B.

You’ve spent hours analyzing this to no avail.
You have done extensive research in the market area.  You know what the contract [...]

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Economy

10 Economic Indicators You Should Know

by Anwell Tsai | January 8, 2009

1. Average workweek of production workers in manufacturing
2. Average initial weekly claims for unemployment
3.New orders for consumer goods and materials, inflation adjusted
4. Vendor Performance
5. New orders, non-defense capital goods
6. New building permits issued
7. Index of stock prices
8. Money supply, adjusted for inflation
9. Interest rate spread: 10 yr Teasury notes and 3 month T bills
10. Index [...]

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Learn Real Estate

6 Must Reads for New Real Estate Investors

by Anwell Tsai | January 1, 2009

1. Real Estate Principles for the New Economy by Miller/Geltner
2. Real Estate Finance and Investments by Brueggeman/Fisher
3. The Appraisal of Real Estate by the Appraisal Institute
4.Investment Analysis for Real Estate Decisions by Greer/Farrell
5. Property Management in Real Estate Investment Decision-making by Jaffe
6. Macroeconomics by N. Gregory Mankiw
Real Estate Principles gives a great overview of the [...]

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Real Estate

5 Great Ways to Market Your Property

by Anwell Tsai | December 25, 2008

1. Post on a broad array of websites such as Realtor.com, Yahoo, Google, Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist, Etc. (my listings are found on over 50 sites)

2. Syndicate video walkthroughs which hopefully will go viral (Youtube, Vimeo,Tubemogul, Metacafe Etc.)

3. Create Virtual Flyers and a stand alone webpage for your property

4. Create HTML coding to add additional pictures [...]

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Economy

Gas Prices Alter Housing Values

by Anwell Tsai | December 18, 2008

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Obama administration is implementing a new energy program. As gas prices rocketed skyward 6 months ago, calls for energy reform were rampant. As the economy slides further into a recession, focus has shifted towards the financial markets, manufacturing, and stabilizing housing prices.

Economist have long argued that even with [...]

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Real Estate

In Real Estate, Knowledge is King

by Anwell Tsai | December 11, 2008

BiggerPockets.com has done a tremendous job of aggregating information on Real Estate topics through blogs, articles, and forums. As investors, understanding how to sift through data and analyze potential deals is absolutely critical.
One of my favorite sources of Real Estate information is the American Real Estate Society, which publishes numerous journals, available for free, online! [...]

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Financing Real Estate

Adjust for Financing when Pricing Properties

by Anwell Tsai | December 4, 2008

Trying to determine the market value of a piece of property in a stable market is pretty simple.  Just find a few comparable homes in your area to find a probable range of values.  In today’s volatile Real Estate market, adjusting for factors such as property rights, conditions of sale, and market conditions, as well [...]

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Real Estate

The $7,800,000,000,000.00 Bailout! That’s $7.8 Trillion So Far, Folks!

by Anwell Tsai | November 27, 2008

The U.S. government plans to lend an addition $800 Billion to help ease the current economic crisis. According to Edmund Andrews of the New York Times, the government has already pledged close to $7.8 trillion dollars in financial obligations this past year alone. The additional $600 billion allocated to purchases of debt for Fannie and [...]

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Commentary

Uncertainty vs Risk in Real Estate

by Anwell Tsai | November 20, 2008

In today’s uncertain economic climate, people tend to throw out any form of risk management and opt for “safe” investments, not realizing that all investments are exposed to some sort of risk. Elements of uncertainty and risk are associated with all asset classes, including Real Estate, and can be managed and optimized by looking at [...]

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Commentary

Conflicting Housing Market Data?

by Anwell Tsai | November 13, 2008

Real Estate markets are inefficient and involve non-homogenous assets being negotiated and purchased by private parties. It becomes difficult to track data since conditions of sale, financing, and property rights being sold, among other things, can not be easily verified.

However, there are more and more sophisticated indices published by various companies that [...]

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Real Estate

Which Housing Stats to Trust?

by Anwell Tsai | November 6, 2008

Commentators speak of numerous broad housing indicators and indexes tracking property values across the nation.  However, Real Estate, unlike Stocks and Bonds, are not fungible.  Properties are non-homogenous and are affected by both broad economic macro and local micro factors.  Due to market inefficiencies, the usefulness of data derived from these broad indicators is limited.
Constant [...]

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Real Estate

Why You Must Adjust for Conditions of Sale in a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)

by Anwell Tsai | October 29, 2008

In a Comparative Market Analysis, adjustments to comparable property oftentimes are made to reflect the motivations of a delineated market area’s typical buyer and seller.  Adjustments for conditions of sale reflect the motivations of buyers and sellers when they are not typically motivated and purchases do not reflect arm’s-length transactions.
ADJUST FOR SALES BETWEEN RELATIVES/FRIENDS
Family members [...]

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Real Estate

Pair Data Analysis, an Investors Best Friend

by Anwell Tsai | October 23, 2008

When sufficient data is available, paired data analysis can be utilized as one of the most persuasive tools in a Comparative Market Analysis.  Paired data analysis can be broken down into two categories: Primary pairings (pairs of sales that are identical except for one component) and secondary pairings.
Primary pairings should be used first and carry [...]

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Economy

Where to Invest Now?

by Anwell Tsai | October 16, 2008

With the recent crash of the Stock Market and continued weakness in the housing market, people are scrambling to find “safe” places to invest.  Many people are taking their money out of the market in fear that the system will crash.  There are many valid reasons for doing this. However, if the primary reason is [...]

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