Monday, February 24, 2014

What Are Trust Deed Investments?

By Krystal Branch


You can derive substantial returns with limited risk with trust deed investments. To acquire these high returns, you should take care with the type of property you invest in and ensure that adequate valuations are done. There are usually two options available to investors.

Your first option is to offer a direct loan. The second is to buy a promissory note that has already been established. The process may be similar to a normal mortgage bond, but the contracts involve three separate entities, instead of two.

The parties involved in trust deeds are the borrower, lender and trustee. The appointed trustee acts as an independent third party. The trustee holds the legal title to the property on the lender's behalf. The title is held until such time as the borrower has paid off the full amount of the loan. If the borrower is in default, the lender has the right to take ownership of the asset.

There are mortgage brokers who will promise you very good returns if you choose to enter the world of trust deed investments. This may be tempting because of the high rate of return, but it is vital that you take care of the investments you make. To start, you should research the title status and the market value of the asset you are interested in. A Preliminary Title Report can be obtained for the last three-month period. You should be sure that the property is in an acceptable condition that will not affect its market value.

You should carry out your own due diligence and not simply take another person's word for it. You should ascertain if there are any legal issues related to the property and the owners. If there is a distinct difference between the assessed value and the appraised value of the property, you should investigate it further.

This type of contract is not insured by governmental agencies. This puts it at risk should the borrower default or if the economic situation declines. This puts you at risk of losing all or a large portion of your total investment. If the borrower opts to declare bankruptcy, you could experience cumbersome problems with foreclosure. This could ultimately cost you a huge amount of money.

You have the option to buy a full or a part of a trust deed. A full deed provides you with total ownership of the entire promissory note. It is necessary that you have sufficient capital to cover the entire loan if you wish to enter into this type of agreement. A part of a deed involves investment with a number of other investors. The limit of the number of investors who can partake is ten. This spreads the investment amount across the total number of investors.

When you make the decision to partake in trust deed investments, a decision will have to be made to enter into a first or subsequent contract. A first note offers you precedence over any other claimants to the property. This is the safest investment as a second or third deed would be at risk if the available funds are insufficient to settle the total debt. This type of promissory note should be raised by means of a bond. The bond instructions should stipulate all the conditions to be met before the funds are finally made available to the property owner or borrower.




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