Real Estate Investing 101
You may wonder why you should consider real estate investing - specifically single-family homes. Consider this: shelter is one of the basic necessities of life. Everyone needs food & shelter no matter what the current state of the economy may be. Therefore, a demand for single-family homes will ALWAYS exist.
"The best time to invest in real estate was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."
- Author's paraphrase of an ancient Chinese proverb.
Will this work where you live? It works everywhere. Take a look at the real estate wanted section in the Sunday paper of the largest city in your area. How many "We Buy Houses" ads do you see? If it didn't work, those people wouldn't be advertising. If by some freak occurrence you don't see any "We Buy Houses" ads, consider yourself lucky because when you place your ad you'll get all the calls. Real estate investing works everywhere.
If you're thinking you can't buy houses because you have neither money nor credit, don't worry about it. It doesn't matter. If you'll just apply the techniques presented, you'll see that you can in fact buy nice houses in nice neighborhoods with no money, no banks, and no credit. Creative real estate investing knowledge is power. There are four main profit centers in Real Estate Investing. 1. Wholesaling (finding bargains for bargain-hunters) 2. Retailing (buy low => sell high) 3. Owner Financing (ownership - get in "light') 4. Options (control without ownership) Wholesaling and Retailing generally start with a house in need of repairs and are commonly referred to as the "Ugly House" business. On the other hand, Owner Financing and Options usually involve "Pretty Houses" that don't need repairs. Getting in "light" means using as little cash as possible. The 3 main reasons to get involved in real estate investing are: 1. Quick Cash Profits 2. Monthly Cash Flow 3. Long-Term Appreciation Your real estate investing goal should be to become a transaction engineer. When you become a transaction engineer, you'll be able to provide solutions that will meet the seller's needs and still make you a profit - a true win/win situation. Remember, we're making a profit while providing a valuable service by using our specialized knowledge and imagination to solve problems creatively. We provide a service to our communities by converting vacant, run-down houses into affordable housing. This increases the value of all the homes in the neighborhood and also increases the community's tax base. In addition, think of all the people that benefit from our activities: appraisers, home inspectors, real estate agents, surveyors, termite inspectors, closing agents, title clerks, attorneys, contractors and all the vendors that supply materials to these professionals. You should not be taking advantage of people. There are so many houses available that it's not necessary. Real estate deals are like buses: if you miss one, just be patient, there's another one coming shortly.
| 