Real Estate and REITS Investing

You might think the first rule in real estate investment is location but really it is to be cautious of who you are working with. As with any other industry the real estate world is filled with its share of bad apples including a large majority of those late night infomercial gurus claiming to teach you the way to become a millionaire through real estate.

For those who are thinking about investing in real estate there are a few things you will need to make it a successful venture. First off you need investment capital or some form of getting it without putting yourself upside down financially.

Location of the investment property is highly important. You don’t want to invest in an area that has a failing economy or has too many for sale signs.

If you want to invest in real estate then you need to have great management, people, and negotiating skills to help you in every step of the process. It is likely that some sort of problem will occur so be prepared. Some people have the idea that flipping a house is as easy as buying a property, fixing up a few small inexpensive things, and then selling it for a major profit but it is never as simple as that.

There is also real estate investment trusts. This allows you to invest in real estate for far less money and there is no stress of fixing any tenants problems. REITS invest into several different corporations that are involved in real estate including everything from shopping centers to development companies. They are also listed on the NASDAQ and the stock exchange.

REITS work in a similar way as mutual funds with the exclusion that they set up a portfolio that is only involved in real estate. They must pay a large portion of their earnings to investors.

Before investing in a REIT you should fully think about the economic conditions where the key holdings are located. You should also know the past performance of the REIT and what the future projections look like. Speak with the REIT manager who works like a mutual funds manager.

REITS are similar to stocks, bonds, and mutual funds in the fact that they have high and low periods. They can turn into financially strong investments over time and pay dividends. REITS are liquid assets and are a much more secure way of investing in real estate then buying property.

The major reason that investing in real estate is considered so high risk is because the market is constantly fluctuating. For anyone to invest in any type of real estate without having adequate knowledge of the area surrounding it is very high risk.

It is wise to enlist the help of a professional real estate agent who can provide you with information that can help you profit despite the fluctuations in the market. Even if you only use one for your first investment a real estate professional can provide you with information that can help you find more profitable homes.

You may wish to contact Joe and Colleen Lane, Realtors? for more info on real estate, especially in the areas of Pasco Wa Real Estate, Richland Wa Real Estate, and surrounding Southeastern Washington Communities.

About the Author

Published by author Spencer H. The Lane Real Estate Team services Tri City Wa Real Estate, Kennewick Wa Real Estate.

Commercial Real Estate Investing

Real estate investing has been made out in the media to seem like it’s the best thing since sliced bread. This in no small part due to late night cable television infomercials espousing the high deals of no money down or next to nothing down real estate investing. They make it look like anybody can do these commercial real estate investing deals easily. You will be shown, how by just writing things down on the back of napkins, you have the makings of a real estate fortune. Things will reach boiling point when supposedly real interviews are held with people who have succeeded wildly after using the promoter’s commercial real estate investing system.

It is a fact that real estate fortunes can be made. More often however, the person who’s making it is the guru owner of the real estate course! Truth be told, real estate investing is a lot harder than what you are led to believe. Every buy, sell or renting of real estate involves dealing with people directly. Unlike stock transactions, there are no organized exchanges to keep things standardized. Furthermore, the courts are more sympathetic and protective toward delinquent family tenants. Another common problem is many real estate rehabbers take on drifters to do odd jobs. Instead of fixing up the properties, they do more damage than good and usually end up disappearing after getting paid an initial amount. Lots of real estate investors are burned this way.

You still have to take many years to learn how to assess the value of properties in a town or neighborhood. You also need the street experience in negotiations so that you don’t lose out the profits that you originally thought you had. The main point here is real estate investing, whether commercial or residential, is best thought of as a business. It needs your dedication and constant education. Moreover, if you are working full time and you invest in real estates, you will be losing your free time to collecting rentals and doing rehabs. You will need to cover the mortgage out of your own pocket if the property does not sell, or when tenants are not able to pay up on time. You want to enjoy the fruits of your labor, not leaking out your time and salary to patching up hiccups in your real estate investments. If you enjoy cookouts and trips to the beaches, you might want to consider the stock market rather than real estate investment. Both are part-time businesses, but which one leaves you with more free time and less income fluctuation?

About the Author:

Jim Banks has over 15 years investing experience investing in everything from real estate to commodity futures and is a frequent contributor to http://www.profit-mountain.com

Real Estate Investing: Infomercial, Tax Sales And Mentoring Scams

Flipping through late-night infomercials recently, I saw two real estate get-rich quick schemes, and I couldn’t help but wonder why people still fall for those old scams? Has anyone really talked a seller out of his home for no money down with owner financing lately?

Real estate infomercials do great harm to beginning investors, who waste hundreds of dollars on old information. Worse yet, those beginners soon get discouraged and miss out on the true (and profitable) adventure of real estate investing.

One of the most popular late night infomercial shows tells beginners that it’s possible to make a fortune by buying houses with no money down and then renting them out to cover the monthly payments. It’s true that you can buy a home for no money down, but the requirements include having good credit, good income, and the home should be owner-occupied.

Rentals don’t normally qualify for no money down financing. Institutional lenders aren’t supposed to make no money down loans on investment properties, and even if you could buy an investment home with no money down, the monthly payments would generally eat up the rent.

Late-night scammers also claim that investors can get owners to pay the closing costs, including the down payment. But when a lender asks where your down payment will be coming from, saying, “the seller” is not the right answer! Today’s sellers are also fairly savvy, and understand that with no money invested in a property, a buyer could easily walk away and leave them with a home that’s been ruined by careless tenants.

Another TV program offers a bogus system for buying houses at ridiculous prices, but think about it: has anyone bought a home, free and clear, for $345.00 at a tax sale recently? Hordes of investors flock to the tax sales in the area where I live, bidding up the prices of foreclosure properties far beyond a few cents on the dollar. It just doesn’t happen.

Today, another real estate investment scam is popular in Southern California. Here?s how it works: a young person we’ll call Charles charged $4,000 on his credit card to hire a real estate “mentor,” after the mentor wined and dined him at a fancy Beverly Hills restaurant.

In exchange for the fee, the mentor instructed Charles to find distressed houses by driving around the area and writing down the addresses of ugly houses in nice neighborhoods. Once Charles had given him the addresses, the mentor obtained the owner’s address and sometimes a phone number. Then it was up to Charles to call the owners and talk them into selling their houses for no money down, and carrying the paper, too!

I met Charles when he called me about buying a property that my husband and I had on the market for $1.2 million. When I asked him how such a young man was going to make the payments on $1.2 million home, he told me that he planned to rent the house out for enough to make the payments.

As a real estate investor myself, I tried not to laugh at his naivete, and after talking to Charles and listening to his frustration about trying so hard to follow his mentor’s advice, I offered to help him find a property, and I’m happy to say that Charles now owns his own home. But he’ll still have to spend years paying off a $4,000 credit card bill.

If you want to make money as a real estate investor, a good first step is to buy your own home, like Charles did. You can do that for no money down if you have good credit, or for a relatively little amount of money down if your credit is poor. Once you’ve purchased your own home, fix it up and then either sell it or refinance it and use your profits as the down payment on an investment property.

Don’t pay hundreds of dollars for out-dated methods that may have worked in the middle of last century! They’re a waste of your time and money. Real estate investing is truly a great way to make a fortune, but you must stick to tried-and-true proven strategies, ones that work in today?s real estate market.

Copyright ? 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

About the Author: Jeanette Fisher offers FREE How to Start Real Estate Investing Teleseminar, free ebook, The Truth about Making Money Flipping Houses http://doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/

Real Estate Investing: Infomercial, Tax Sales And Mentoring Scams

Flipping through late-night infomercials recently, I saw two real estate get-rich quick schemes, and I couldn’t help but wonder why people still fall for those old scams? Has anyone really talked a seller out of his home for no money down with owner financing lately?

Real estate infomercials do great harm to beginning investors, who waste hundreds of dollars on old information. Worse yet, those beginners soon get discouraged and miss out on the true (and profitable) adventure of real estate investing.

One of the most popular late night infomercial shows tells beginners that it’s possible to make a fortune by buying houses with no money down and then renting them out to cover the monthly payments. It’s true that you can buy a home for no money down, but the requirements include having good credit, good income, and the home should be owner-occupied.

Rentals don’t normally qualify for no money down financing. Institutional lenders aren’t supposed to make no money down loans on investment properties, and even if you could buy an investment home with no money down, the monthly payments would generally eat up the rent.

Late-night scammers also claim that investors can get owners to pay the closing costs, including the down payment. But when a lender asks where your down payment will be coming from, saying, “the seller” is not the right answer! Today’s sellers are also fairly savvy, and understand that with no money invested in a property, a buyer could easily walk away and leave them with a home that’s been ruined by careless tenants.

Another TV program offers a bogus system for buying houses at ridiculous prices, but think about it: has anyone bought a home, free and clear, for $345.00 at a tax sale recently? Hordes of investors flock to the tax sales in the area where I live, bidding up the prices of foreclosure properties far beyond a few cents on the dollar. It just doesn’t happen.

Today, another real estate investment scam is popular in Southern California. Here?s how it works: a young person we’ll call Charles charged $4,000 on his credit card to hire a real estate “mentor,” after the mentor wined and dined him at a fancy Beverly Hills restaurant.

In exchange for the fee, the mentor instructed Charles to find distressed houses by driving around the area and writing down the addresses of ugly houses in nice neighborhoods. Once Charles had given him the addresses, the mentor obtained the owner’s address and sometimes a phone number. Then it was up to Charles to call the owners and talk them into selling their houses for no money down, and carrying the paper, too!

I met Charles when he called me about buying a property that my husband and I had on the market for $1.2 million. When I asked him how such a young man was going to make the payments on $1.2 million home, he told me that he planned to rent the house out for enough to make the payments.

As a real estate investor myself, I tried not to laugh at his naivete, and after talking to Charles and listening to his frustration about trying so hard to follow his mentor’s advice, I offered to help him find a property, and I’m happy to say that Charles now owns his own home. But he’ll still have to spend years paying off a $4,000 credit card bill.

If you want to make money as a real estate investor, a good first step is to buy your own home, like Charles did. You can do that for no money down if you have good credit, or for a relatively little amount of money down if your credit is poor. Once you’ve purchased your own home, fix it up and then either sell it or refinance it and use your profits as the down payment on an investment property.

Don’t pay hundreds of dollars for out-dated methods that may have worked in the middle of last century! They’re a waste of your time and money. Real estate investing is truly a great way to make a fortune, but you must stick to tried-and-true proven strategies, ones that work in today?s real estate market.

Copyright ? 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

About the Author: Jeanette Fisher offers FREE How to Start Real Estate Investing Teleseminar, free ebook, The Truth about Making Money Flipping Houses http://doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/

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