Belize Real Estate  Links  
Real Estate Information

A Real Estate Investing Primer


There are a great many books and web sites devoted to real estate investing out there, but most of them concentrate on one specific area of investing. It's often hard to find a general description of real estate investing, one that lists the various real estate investing strategies and how to get started. That's what this article will set out to do.

Before beginning, you must understand that real estate investing is not a get rich quick scheme. Real estate investing can, and will, make you wealthy, but it certainly won't happen overnight and it will require work. As you perfect your technique and gain experience, the amount of work needed to gain a lot of money will reduce, but it will take effort and persistance to make it there.

If you're completely new to real estate investing then the only sort of investing strategy you're likely aware of is rental properties.

Landlording has been around since there have been houses and people to rent them to, and it will continue to be a wealth builder. In fact, most of the 'no money down' real estate strategies you hear about still include rentals as part of their plan. Still, there are other ways to make money from real estate investing out there.

The next most 'traditional' method is to buy a fixer-upper, fix it up, and then sell it for a profit. This is commonly referred to as 'rehabbing' and is a very good way to make a lot of money in a relatively short period of time. Most rehabbers won't even look at a property unless they can make at least $20,000 of profit, and this is usually within 3-4 months time. Rehabbers tend to be experienced investors with available money, or have partners who help provide any extra cash required.

But if you're just starting out you likely won't have access to large amounts of money. One way to get involved in this area of real estate investing without needing any money at all is to 'flip' houses to these rehabbers. What this entails is you going out and finding these fixer-uppers, noting all the work required to fix the place up. You then place a low offer in to the owner, taking into account the fix up price and some built in profit. Once you have the house under contract you then flip it to a rehabber for a small fee. This can result in several thousand dollars for you, without you having to spend a dime. 'Flipping' properties can be a great way to start your real estate investing career.

Another 'no money down' technique that's popular on the late night infomercials is called 'lease optioning'. This is basically a rent to own strategy that allows you to control a property without ever taking ownership of it. It's a slightly more complicated strategy that warrents its own article, but it does allow you to make money in several different ways, each without ever having to spend any of your own money. If you're not put off by longer term investments then lease options are definately worth more research.

There are other strategies that involve foreclosures and getting the home owner to sign the deed over to you, but for now I'd suggest learning more about flipping and lease options as entry-level real estate investing strategies.

How do you find properties that would make good real estate investments? Again, an entire article can be devoted to that, but there are basically two ways: you go looking for them, or you get them to come to you. The first way involves reading the newspaper classifieds and scanning the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This is where having a great real estate agent is a must - they can get you more details on homes than you can view on the mls website, and can often let you know of great deals before they even become available to the general public.

Having home owners contact you means setting up an advertising campaign. This can involve placing ads in the newspaper, placing bandit signs at strategic locations around town, starting a direct mail campaign, etc. There are many ways to let people know that there's a new real estate investor in town, and it would be in your best interest to try each of them to see which ones work best for you.

Whether you decide to go looking for deals, have them come to you, or both, they key is to be persistant. Real estate investing is a numbers game - most of the time you won't be able to make the deal work, but every time you do it translates into thousands of dollars for you. The more owners you talk to, the more deals you'll be able to do, the more money you'll make.

I hope this article gives you a bit of an idea of what the world of real estate investing is like. There's a lot to learn out there, and all of it is very interesting. Find the area that interests you the most, then get out there and start talking to home owners. Don't be discouraged if you're getting turned down a lot - just remember that when it does pay off, it will pay off big!

About The Author

Adem Hamidovic is a part time real estate investor and operator of www.ProfitPiggy.com, a website devoted to new and experienced real estate investors alike.

admin@profitpiggy.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Real estate developer says he plans to make cash bid for Philadelphia's 2 ...
Washington Post
PHILADELPHIA — A wealthy real estate developer said Tuesday he and four partners plan to make an offer to buy the city's two largest newspapers, whose downtown offices he already owns. Bart Blatstein said he plans to pursue an acquisition of some or ...

and more »


Data Center Knowledge

Alexandria Real Estate Q4 FFO Rises - Quick Facts
NASDAQ
(RTTNews.com) - Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (ARE) Tuesday reported an increase in funds from operations for the fourth quarter, as revenues grew. Funds from operations, FFO, attributable to common stockholders for the quarter was $67.8 million ...
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Year Ended ...MarketWatch (press release)
2011 Operating Results And Increased 2012 Guidance Announced By National ...Daily Markets (press release)
BRE Properties 4Q Net Soars As FFO ImprovesWall Street Journal
4-traders (press release) -RTT News -Business Wire (press release)
all 68 news articles »


MarketWatch

Asia real-estate bull turns bearish
MarketWatch
“Singapore and Hong Kong are two of the freest economies in the world, yet you pay more in stamp duties [real-estate transaction taxes] now than you would in London, because they are very worried about the markets continuing to overheat,” Murphy said.

and more »


Real estate market rebounding
Park Record
The Park City Board of REALTORS shut the book on the 2011 real estate market, releasing their annual report on last year's number of sales, sales prices and number of foreclosures. 2011 sales increased by a total of six percent from the year before ...
Real Estate Market Picks UpKIII TV3

all 2 news articles »


Los Angeles Times

REAL ESTATE: Refinancing expanding for Fannie/Freddie borrowers
Press-Enterprise
With the changes that are expected to make the program much more effective, the program is being called HARP II by those in the real estate and mortgage industries. Probably the most significant improvement is that it lifts the ceilings on the amount ...
US mortgage giant plans massive auction of foreclosure propertiesA Place in the Sun

all 140 news articles »


Apple Valley real estate developer rejects offer in San Bernardino County ...
San Bernardino Sun
By Mike Cruz, The (San Bernardino County) Sun SAN BERNARDINO - Apple Valley real estate developer John Dino DeFazio, who is charged with six counts of perjury related to a county corruption probe, turned down a plea bargain offered by prosecutors ...

and more »


China Daily

Real estate market likely to see an increase in M&A activity
China Daily
By Hu Yuanyuan (China Daily) BEIJING - China will see more mergers and acquisitions in the real estate sector this year, with domestic players continuing to dominate the market, according to industry analysts. The cash flow of property developers will ...
Cushman & Wakefield | Commerce Releases 2012 Utah Commercial Real Estate ...Utah Pulse

all 3 news articles »


KDRV

Rogue Valley Commercial Real Estate In Upswing
KDRV
Signs advertising commercial space for sale are not hard to find in the Rogue Valley, but local real estate agencies say these spaces are gradually becoming easier to fill. Strips of retail or office space are seen in many areas around Medford.
Q&A: Broker's job expands as market contractsPress-Enterprise

all 3 news articles »


The Real Estate Book Helps Agents Go Mobile in Just Minutes With Free Online ...
MarketWatch (press release)
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA, Feb 07, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- With more and more consumers relying on mobile devices for local information, real estate professionals can no longer ignore this increasingly important channel when marketing properties.
The Real Estate Book Helps Agents Go MobileRisMedia.com (press release)

all 4 news articles »


Real Estate Weekly- What is a 203K Rehab Mortgage Loan?
Ukiah Daily Journal
By Deanna Parrish You find this great house that is in the perfect location, it's in a great school district, excellent floor plan and the yard you always wanted. It's the lowest price in the neighborhood. So what's not to like? It's a foreclosure.

and more »

Google News

home | site map | Colorado Log Homes | Homes for Sale in Denver Metro
© 2006