Investment Real Estate Secret: Buy a House Today, With No Money Down

If you've read my article "Purchasing Property With No Money Down. . ." today's article may seem a bit conflicting. Bear with me, though, and you'll see that it is not. In Purchasing Property With No Money Down. . ., I explain how buying up property at inflated values at a break-neck pace is no way to be successful in real estate. I explain how this is a form of investment real estate finance that is possible but not advisable. In this piece, I'd like to express that buying property with no money out of your pocket can actually happen and can be a great technique, if it's done properly.

Let's suppose you find a house that you're interested in purchasing as investment real estate. The owner, who also uses the real estate as investment property wants to get out quickly. This is a perfect opportunity for you to get the house with no money down. Note, look for ads that say seller financing or motivated seller to find these types of deals.

In lieu of conventional bank financing, you may offer the seller his exact sales price, if he agrees to finance the sale for you. Before going this route, ask him if he's willing to take a considerable amount less than his asking price; if he's motivated, he'll likely say yes, assuming he's going to get a bank check. Now, you come in with much more money, but you ask him to finance the loan.

Here's where salesmanship is critical. Offer him a deal that he can't pass. If he's selling for $100,000 but was willing to take $88,000, you'll give him his entire asking price of $100,000 with very special terms. Although you amortize the loan over 30 years, you promise him that you'll pay him off in three years or less. Meanwhile, you'll pay him interest only payments on the note at 8 or 9 percent. Explain to him how he'll make all of this money on top of the $100,000, because you're not paying down the note with your monthly installments. Because you're giving him such a great deal, you will not pay him anything as a down payment.

Now, you may be thinking this doesn't look like a good deal for you. Here's how you make it a terrific deal. The second you close the deal with the seller, you stick a for sale sign in the yard, announcing that the "Owner will finance." Now, you sell the house for $110,000. You take a $5,000 down payment, and you take interest-only payments on $105,000 at 8 or 9 percent interest. You are making more than you have to pay the seller, plus you have the $5,000 in your pocket. This is truly a sweet, No Money Down investment real estate deal.

NOTE: if the seller insists on a down payment, you offer him the $5,000 you plan to collect from your buyer. Be sure to get him to allow you to defer the down payment for three months. This gives you time to sell, collect the 5k and pass it along to him. This isn't as sweet as pocketing the $5,000 yourself, but it's still a no money down deal.

Mark Barnes is the author of the new novel, The League, a shocking, sports-related conspiracy. Learn more about his suspense thriller at http://www.sportsnovels.com. He is also an investment real estate and home loan finance expert. Get his free mortgage finance course at http://www.winningthemortgagegame.com

State Real Estate Drop The Worst On Record Patch.com Home sales in Connecticut dropped 13 percent in 2011, making it the worst on record, according to The Warren Group, the preeminent compiler of real estate statistics in New England. Boston-based Warren began tracking real estate data in the Nutmeg ... and more »

Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog)

Amazon's Effect on Seattle Real Estate: Fast Sales, Nearly No Condos Available ... Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog) The real estate market for South Lake Union condos has been affected greatly by the influx of Amazon's employees. There have been very few home sales in the past few months, but not for the reasons that sales lag in other markets. In South Lake Union, ... and more »

Kensington mayor's real estate purchases Washington Post ... or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers. All comments are posted in the All Comments tab. Kensington mayor's real estate purchases. and more »

Bringing real estate into a mobile world The Register-Guard By Sherri Buri McDonald RealLead is a new Eugene company designing technology that enables real estate agents to get more mileage out of their mobile marketing of real estate listings. The company's owners are Caroline Cummings (left), ... and more »

Real Estate briefs: Builder breaks ground on Bonita Lakes The News-Press Originally from Boston, Christensen worked as a graphic designer and earned her real estate sales designation in 2003. Christensen is also a member of the Bonita Springs-Estero Association of Realtors. Kathy Farias to its Central office. Southwest Florida real estate briefsNaples Daily News all 2 news articles »

Developer says real estate market is on the mend Las Vegas Review - Journal Buy this photo Quotable: "Real estate is more like a marathon, not a sprint. You need to build on your strengths, intellectual assets and human resources." Work history: Salesman and broker for Rossum Realty Unlimited, 1989-2005; managing member of ... and more »

The Virginian-Pilot

Changing times in real estate The Desert Sun Kevin Stern of Desert Star Real Estate has his own small firm. “Some people need the structure of a large corporation, an office to go to every day, social atmosphere, whereas I work from my home,” he said. / Omar Ornelas, The Desert Sun Of nearly 3600 ... In real estate stories, a market for distrustSarasota Herald-Tribune Herbert Edwards Sr., real estate agentPhiladelphia Inquirer Housing correction isn't deterring agents-in-trainingThe Virginian-Pilot Muncie Star Press all 3 news articles »

'New normal' for real estate arrives Daily News Transcript By Jay Hummer/local columnist Homeowners in MetroWest, and throughout Massachusetts are beginning to adjust to the “new normal” — an industry buzz word used among real estate professionals to define the current state of the housing market. and more »

Real Estate column: A loan modification isn't a new mortgage Herald Times Reporter Most homeowners are under the assumption that a borrower must be behind on mortgage payments in order to get approved for a mortgage modification. A loan modification is a way to change the terms of an existing loan in order to help the borrower stay ... and more »

Investing: Real estate investment trusts risky, but show great returns The News-Press Peculiarly, the commercial real estate market isn't quite as depressed. In fact, funds that invest in real estate investment trusts, or REITs, rose an average 7.5 percent last year, beating the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index's 2.1 percent gain. and more »