While real estate investing is a great line of business to get into in order to make copious piles of money there are a few things to consider before jumping into the fray. This is particularly true if you are considering going the route of a rental property owner. There are all kinds of reasons that this is a good solid investment for most that are interested in investing in the real estate business however, it doesn’t come without a few drawbacks, not all of which are financial. It would be wise to consider these things however before you buy your first rental property.

First of all, if you own rental properties and elect to manage them yourself, which is probably wise unless your first property is a multiple rental unit, you will quickly discover that your life is no longer your own. You are literally on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week to handle problems that may arise from pipes bursting, heating going out, electric issues, noxious fumes, leaky roofs and window sills and countless other complaints that may erupt at odd hours of the day or night. Your tenants will have your phone number and expect you to always take their calls.

Second, you have to play the role of Mr. or Mrs. Mean every month when the rent is due. This is probably the least tasteful task of owning rental properties for many rental property owners and one reason that many resort to the services of a property management agency above all other reasons. You will hear all manner of sob stories in your role as landlord but you need to treat this like the business even the things about your business you don’t like such as rent collecting and, when necessary, eviction proceedings.

Third, the constant need for upkeep and repair is often daunting to rental property owners. It’s a sad truth that people do not treat rental properties with the respect that they would treat a home of their own. For this reason you almost always need to paint and replace carpeting, at the very least in between tenants. This takes works and time not to mention the fact that the time that is spent painting and replacing the flooring is time that the property is going to be empty of tenants and not bringing in any income.

Finally, there is the constant need to have the property occupied. As the owner of a rental property you will need to find new tenants when the old ones leave because every day the property is empty is a day you aren’t making money. You want to have the property filled as often as possible and you really want long term tenants whenever you can manage that. One way of course is by making sure that your tenants are treated well, not overcharged, and happy with their homes.

Owning rental property can be financially rewarding but it is a lot more work than many people give it credit for being in light of other careers within the real estate investment field that may require more work upfront. Rental properties require a long-term commitment to keeping the property in good working order and making it a profitable venture for many years to come. If you are considering this business and the above things are a deterrent for you it might be a good idea to obtain the services of a property manager.

If you are now in financial difficulty, and you have made the right choice in avoiding bankruptcy, then your next step is to manage your debt in a way that you are not Forced to file bankruptcy. And how exactly do you do that? The answer is, get professional help. Consult a debt consolidation company and let them help you sort out your financial issues.

Why Debt Consolidation program is the ideal choice. You can avoid bankruptcy by choosing debt consolidation, as it makes you debt free with a lot of extra benefits:

1. Permanent Solution: While Bankruptcy offers only a temporary relief, Debt Consolidation provides a permanent solution to your debt problems. They are the expert in their field and they are definitely on better grounds to advising you what the best path is.

2. Minimized Debt: Unlike Bankruptcy, Debt Consolidation can reduce your debt amount to as good as 40–60%! This ensures that you get to carry on with you life with as little hassle as possible. In time, you WILL clear off your debt!

3. Easy payment: Debt Consolidation allows paying off debts in easy monthly installment without making drastic changes to your living standards. This alone is great help, you get both the benefits of clearing your debt, as well as being able to live life normally.

4. Clean Credit Report: Debtors opting for Debt Consolidation Program can have renewed accounts and clean Credit Report once the debt is paid off.

5. Freedom from Creditors: In a Debt Consolidation Program, you are not dominated by the Creditor, as the Consolidation Company takes care of dealing with the Creditors. Imagine the hassle of not needing to deal with your creditors!

Whether you can avoid bankruptcy and take up any other debt solution depends on your debt situation. But bankruptcy should be chosen only when other options fail to work. The option best suited to your debt needs can only be judged by a Debt Counselor. Remember that it is always better to rely on professionals in such cases as one wrong step taken can result into a thousand troubles. Getting professional help from a debt consolidation company is really the best step during times of financial difficulty and if you have equity in your home contact your mortgage broker.

If you don’t have the cash to pay the closing costs upfront, you might be able to include them in your loan balance.

This is often allowed on refinance loans, though unfortunately, it’s not an option for home buyers.

This strategy will cost more in the long run since you end up paying interest on your closing costs. It will also raise your interest rate. But it might be a good option if you don’t have the upfront cash needed to refinance.

At today’s low rates, many homeowners can include their closing costs in the loan and still walk away with a good deal.

Rolling closing costs when you refinance

If you’re refinancing an existing home loan, it’s often possible to include closing costs in the loan amount.

As long as rolling the costs into your mortgage doesn’t impact your loan-to-value (LTV) too much, you should be able to do it.

• As an example, let’s say your new loan amount is $200,000, excluding closing costs
• If your home is valued at $250,000, your LTV is 80%. (200,000 / 250,000 = 0.80)
• If your maximum approval is 80% LTV, or you’re just wanting to stay at or below the 80% mark, you may not be able to roll the closing costs back into your loan

But if your loan-to-value ratio is low enough, taking on a small extra loan amount might not make too much of a difference.

What does it mean to roll closing costs into your loan?

Including closing costs in your loan or “rolling them in” means you are adding the costs to your new mortgage balance.

This is also known as financing your closing costs.

Financing your closing costs does not mean you avoid paying them. It simply means you don’t have to pay them on closing day.

If you don’t want to empty your savings account at the closing table — and if your rate is low enough that you’ll still save — financing your closing costs over the term of your mortgage might be a good strategy.

But the big downside is that you end up paying interest on your closing costs, which makes them more expensive in the long run.

So if you’re able to pay closing costs in cash, that’s typically the best move.

Which closing costs can be financed?

Not all closing costs can be included in the mortgage loan when you refinance.

Some costs you’re typically allowed to finance include:

• Lender fee
• Broker fee
• Appraisal fee
• Title fees/title insurance
• Lawyer fee

Other costs cannot be rolled into the loan. These include items like prepaid property taxes and homeowners insurance.

What are the pros and cons of rolling closing costs into your mortgage?

When you roll closing costs into your mortgage, you have less out-of-pocket funds and more cash on hand.

However, you are also paying interest on those costs over the life of the loan.

For example, let’s assume:

• The closing costs on your new mortgage total $5,000
• You have an interest rate of 4.5% on a 30-year term

If you roll the closing costs into your loan balance:

• Your monthly mortgage payment would increase by $25 per month
• And you would pay an extra $9,000 over the 30-year term

In addition, by adding the closing costs to your new mortgage balance you are increasing the loan-to-value. By increasing the LTV, you are reducing the amount of equity in your home.

Less equity means less profit when you go to sell your home. You would also have less equity if you wanted to take out any type of home equity loan.

What lenders will let you roll closing costs into the mortgage?

Most lenders will allow you to roll closing costs into your mortgage when refinancing.

Generally, it isn’t a question of which lender that may allow you to roll closing costs into the mortgage. It’s more so about the type of loan you’re getting — purchase or refinance.

When you buy a home, you typically don’t have an option to finance the closing costs. Closing costs must be paid by the buyer or the seller (as a seller concession).

But with a refinance, many lenders will allow you to roll the closing costs into the loan provided you still meet lending criteria after doing so.

Is rolling closing costs into your loan the same thing as a “no-closing-cost” mortgage?

Rolling closing costs into your mortgage is usually not the same thing as a “no-closing-cost”

Generally, when lenders advertise “no closing cost” or “zero closing cost” mortgages they are referring to the process of trading a slightly higher interest rate in return for a “lender credit.”

A lender credit means the mortgage company will cover part or all of your closing costs.

With these mortgages, the lender will front many of the initial closing costs and fees, while charging a slightly higher interest rate over the duration of the loan.

The downside is you’ll pay a larger monthly payment over the long haul. And, you’re likely to pay significantly more in interest overall.

However, the idea is that you don’t have to come up with as much cash upfront. This can be helpful when you are also having to come up with a large down payment.