Real Estate Investing - Ten Myths

Is real estate investing only for the wealthy? Can you buy with no money down? Do you have to know the “right” people? Let’s answer by looking at some of the myths of real estate.

1. Real estate investing is for the wealthy. Money helps, but my first real estate investment was a $3,500 lot - which I sold for a profit two weeks after I bought it. Small deals, partners, low-down deals, or just putting aside $7 per day for a couple years until you have enough money for a downpayment - these are some of the ways to start with a little and invest in real estate.

2. “0 down” isn’t possible. I sold a rental property for $1,000 down because I trusted the buyer to make the payments, and I wanted the 9% interest and higher price. He could have gotten a cash-advance on a credit card for another $30 per month and made it a “0-down” deal. “No money down” means none of YOUR money down, and yes, it happens.

3. “0 down” is the best way. If you don’t invest some of your own money, you’ll have higher payments. You’ll also spend more time finding suitable properties, and pay more for them (generally cooperative sellers want more for their cooperation - I do). There are 0-down deals out there - they just aren’t always worth doing.

3. You need experience. Experience helps, but you get it by investing. Start with common sense, ask how you can lose money, be willing to learn the numbers, and you can start where you are.

4. Some investors have a “knack” for making money. Sort of. More accurately, some just took the time and risk to learn the market and continue their education.

5. You need to know the “right” people. It helps, so start the process. Talk to investors, real estate agents, landlords, etc.

6. You have to be great negotiator. If you learn to run the numbers and make the offers based on them, you can be the worst negotiator and still do okay.

8. You need insider knowledge. Understand one deal, and you are on your way. Read and read more, but the best “insider” knowledge comes from experience.

9. Fixer-uppers are safe. People have the idea that doing the work themselves is the safest way to assure a profit. Not true. Mis-planned “fix and flips” have bankrupted even experienced investors. Most poorly purchased rental properties will only eat a little money every month.

10. The key is lowball offers. The numbers have to work, and you need a plan. You can offer MORE than the market price and make money investing in real estate, if you understand creative financing - and how to do the math.

About the author:

Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To learn more, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

Is Real Estate Investing Really One of the Best Income Opportunities

Investing in real estate can be one of the very best income opportunities, but it depends on your personality. I don’t believe everyone is suited for real estate investing, any more than I believe that everyone is suited to be a professional golfer, opera singer, or CPA.

In order for real estate investing to be the best income opportunity for YOU, first make sure you’re the type of person who can succeed as an investor. Fortunately, there are almost as many ways to invest in real estate as there are personality types, so the chances are excellent you will find one you can succeed at.

By answering a few simple questions, I can help you narrow your focus and decide what kind of investing you’re likely to do well with. Be honest with yourself, and answer each question with a simple yes or no. Ready? Let’s get started.

1. Do you consider yourself a highly detailed and organized person?

2. Do you find it difficult or uncomfortable meeting new people and starting conversations with them?

3. Do you enjoy managing large projects and orchestrating the efforts of a group of people?

If you answered yes to the three questions above, your skills make you well suited to rehabbing properties. You may not succeed as a negotiator, so finding and flipping properties is something you probably should avoid, but if you can partner with a skilled deal-finder, handling the rehab projects is something you most likely would enjoy and be good at.

Here’s another set of questions.

1. Do you find it easy to get to know new people and start conversations with them?
2. Do people tend to trust you easily?
3. Do you like how it feels when you negotiate a great deal?
4. Do you dislike detailed work, or are you slightly disorganized?
5. Are you tenacious and persistent?

If you answered yes to at least 4 of the above questions, bird-dogging, wholesaling, and flipping may be right for you. Talking to sellers will be one of your strong suits, once you learn how. Building a list of buyers will probably come easier for you than it might for someone else. However, you should avoid taking on rehabs, or becoming a landlord. Those require more detail and organization than you possess.

Here’s the final group of questions.

1. Are you patient and not easily frustrated?
2. Can you be firm and direct when necessary?
3. Are you consistent and organized in you own personal finances and recordkeeping?

If these answers were yes, perhaps landlording and holding properties for rental would be a good fit for you. In fact, these traits are found in almost all successful, long-term landlords. On the other hand, not possessing these qualities is most likely why so many landlords get fed up with their tenants and wind up selling their properties at a big loss.

There is much more we could say on this topic, but by now you’re getting the idea. It’s vitally important to take a look at yourself truthfully. Ask yourself some hard questions, and use the answers to help determine if real estate investing will be one of the very best income opportunities for you, and which type of investing you are best prepared to excel at.

Now, go make more offers!

Real Estate Investing - Ten Myths

Is real estate investing only for the wealthy? Can you buy with no money down? Do you have to know the “right” people? Let’s answer by looking at some of the myths of real estate.

1. Real estate investing is for the wealthy. Money helps, but my first real estate investment was a $3,500 lot - which I sold for a profit two weeks after I bought it. Small deals, partners, low-down deals, or just putting aside $7 per day for a couple years until you have enough money for a downpayment - these are some of the ways to start with a little and invest in real estate.

2. “0 down” isn’t possible. I sold a rental property for $1,000 down because I trusted the buyer to make the payments, and I wanted the 9% interest and higher price. He could have gotten a cash-advance on a credit card for another $30 per month and made it a “0-down” deal. “No money down” means none of YOUR money down, and yes, it happens.

3. “0 down” is the best way. If you don’t invest some of your own money, you’ll have higher payments. You’ll also spend more time finding suitable properties, and pay more for them (generally cooperative sellers want more for their cooperation - I do). There are 0-down deals out there - they just aren’t always worth doing.

3. You need experience. Experience helps, but you get it by investing. Start with common sense, ask how you can lose money, be willing to learn the numbers, and you can start where you are.

4. Some investors have a “knack” for making money. Sort of. More accurately, some just took the time and risk to learn the market and continue their education.

5. You need to know the “right” people. It helps, so start the process. Talk to investors, real estate agents, landlords, etc.

6. You have to be great negotiator. If you learn to run the numbers and make the offers based on them, you can be the worst negotiator and still do okay.

8. You need insider knowledge. Understand one deal, and you are on your way. Read and read more, but the best “insider” knowledge comes from experience.

9. Fixer-uppers are safe. People have the idea that doing the work themselves is the safest way to assure a profit. Not true. Mis-planned “fix and flips” have bankrupted even experienced investors. Most poorly purchased rental properties will only eat a little money every month.

10. The key is lowball offers. The numbers have to work, and you need a plan. You can offer MORE than the market price and make money investing in real estate, if you understand creative financing - and how to do the math.

About the author:

Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To learn more, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

Is Real Estate Investing Really One of the Best Income Opportunities

Investing in real estate can be one of the very best income opportunities, but it depends on your personality. I don’t believe everyone is suited for real estate investing, any more than I believe that everyone is suited to be a professional golfer, opera singer, or CPA.

In order for real estate investing to be the best income opportunity for YOU, first make sure you’re the type of person who can succeed as an investor. Fortunately, there are almost as many ways to invest in real estate as there are personality types, so the chances are excellent you will find one you can succeed at.

By answering a few simple questions, I can help you narrow your focus and decide what kind of investing you’re likely to do well with. Be honest with yourself, and answer each question with a simple yes or no. Ready? Let’s get started.

1. Do you consider yourself a highly detailed and organized person?

2. Do you find it difficult or uncomfortable meeting new people and starting conversations with them?

3. Do you enjoy managing large projects and orchestrating the efforts of a group of people?

If you answered yes to the three questions above, your skills make you well suited to rehabbing properties. You may not succeed as a negotiator, so finding and flipping properties is something you probably should avoid, but if you can partner with a skilled deal-finder, handling the rehab projects is something you most likely would enjoy and be good at.

Here’s another set of questions.

1. Do you find it easy to get to know new people and start conversations with them?
2. Do people tend to trust you easily?
3. Do you like how it feels when you negotiate a great deal?
4. Do you dislike detailed work, or are you slightly disorganized?
5. Are you tenacious and persistent?

If you answered yes to at least 4 of the above questions, bird-dogging, wholesaling, and flipping may be right for you. Talking to sellers will be one of your strong suits, once you learn how. Building a list of buyers will probably come easier for you than it might for someone else. However, you should avoid taking on rehabs, or becoming a landlord. Those require more detail and organization than you possess.

Here’s the final group of questions.

1. Are you patient and not easily frustrated?
2. Can you be firm and direct when necessary?
3. Are you consistent and organized in you own personal finances and recordkeeping?

If these answers were yes, perhaps landlording and holding properties for rental would be a good fit for you. In fact, these traits are found in almost all successful, long-term landlords. On the other hand, not possessing these qualities is most likely why so many landlords get fed up with their tenants and wind up selling their properties at a big loss.

There is much more we could say on this topic, but by now you’re getting the idea. It’s vitally important to take a look at yourself truthfully. Ask yourself some hard questions, and use the answers to help determine if real estate investing will be one of the very best income opportunities for you, and which type of investing you are best prepared to excel at.

Now, go make more offers!

Real Estate Investing - Ten Myths

Is real estate investing only for the wealthy? Can you buy with no money down? Do you have to know the “right” people? Let’s answer by looking at some of the myths of real estate.

1. Real estate investing is for the wealthy. Money helps, but my first real estate investment was a $3,500 lot - which I sold for a profit two weeks after I bought it. Small deals, partners, low-down deals, or just putting aside $7 per day for a couple years until you have enough money for a downpayment - these are some of the ways to start with a little and invest in real estate.

2. “0 down” isn’t possible. I sold a rental property for $1,000 down because I trusted the buyer to make the payments, and I wanted the 9% interest and higher price. He could have gotten a cash-advance on a credit card for another $30 per month and made it a “0-down” deal. “No money down” means none of YOUR money down, and yes, it happens.

3. “0 down” is the best way. If you don’t invest some of your own money, you’ll have higher payments. You’ll also spend more time finding suitable properties, and pay more for them (generally cooperative sellers want more for their cooperation - I do). There are 0-down deals out there - they just aren’t always worth doing.

3. You need experience. Experience helps, but you get it by investing. Start with common sense, ask how you can lose money, be willing to learn the numbers, and you can start where you are.

4. Some investors have a “knack” for making money. Sort of. More accurately, some just took the time and risk to learn the market and continue their education.

5. You need to know the “right” people. It helps, so start the process. Talk to investors, real estate agents, landlords, etc.

6. You have to be great negotiator. If you learn to run the numbers and make the offers based on them, you can be the worst negotiator and still do okay.

8. You need insider knowledge. Understand one deal, and you are on your way. Read and read more, but the best “insider” knowledge comes from experience.

9. Fixer-uppers are safe. People have the idea that doing the work themselves is the safest way to assure a profit. Not true. Mis-planned “fix and flips” have bankrupted even experienced investors. Most poorly purchased rental properties will only eat a little money every month.

10. The key is lowball offers. The numbers have to work, and you need a plan. You can offer MORE than the market price and make money investing in real estate, if you understand creative financing - and how to do the math.

About the author:

Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To learn more, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

Real Estate Investing - Ten Myths

Is real estate investing only for the wealthy? Can you buy with no money down? Do you have to know the “right” people? Let’s answer by looking at some of the myths of real estate.

1. Real estate investing is for the wealthy. Money helps, but my first real estate investment was a $3,500 lot - which I sold for a profit two weeks after I bought it. Small deals, partners, low-down deals, or just putting aside $7 per day for a couple years until you have enough money for a downpayment - these are some of the ways to start with a little and invest in real estate.

2. “0 down” isn’t possible. I sold a rental property for $1,000 down because I trusted the buyer to make the payments, and I wanted the 9% interest and higher price. He could have gotten a cash-advance on a credit card for another $30 per month and made it a “0-down” deal. “No money down” means none of YOUR money down, and yes, it happens.

3. “0 down” is the best way. If you don’t invest some of your own money, you’ll have higher payments. You’ll also spend more time finding suitable properties, and pay more for them (generally cooperative sellers want more for their cooperation - I do). There are 0-down deals out there - they just aren’t always worth doing.

3. You need experience. Experience helps, but you get it by investing. Start with common sense, ask how you can lose money, be willing to learn the numbers, and you can start where you are.

4. Some investors have a “knack” for making money. Sort of. More accurately, some just took the time and risk to learn the market and continue their education.

5. You need to know the “right” people. It helps, so start the process. Talk to investors, real estate agents, landlords, etc.

6. You have to be great negotiator. If you learn to run the numbers and make the offers based on them, you can be the worst negotiator and still do okay.

8. You need insider knowledge. Understand one deal, and you are on your way. Read and read more, but the best “insider” knowledge comes from experience.

9. Fixer-uppers are safe. People have the idea that doing the work themselves is the safest way to assure a profit. Not true. Mis-planned “fix and flips” have bankrupted even experienced investors. Most poorly purchased rental properties will only eat a little money every month.

10. The key is lowball offers. The numbers have to work, and you need a plan. You can offer MORE than the market price and make money investing in real estate, if you understand creative financing - and how to do the math.

About the author:

Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To learn more, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

Is Real Estate Investing Really One of the Best Income Opportunities

Investing in real estate can be one of the very best income opportunities, but it depends on your personality. I don’t believe everyone is suited for real estate investing, any more than I believe that everyone is suited to be a professional golfer, opera singer, or CPA.

In order for real estate investing to be the best income opportunity for YOU, first make sure you’re the type of person who can succeed as an investor. Fortunately, there are almost as many ways to invest in real estate as there are personality types, so the chances are excellent you will find one you can succeed at.

By answering a few simple questions, I can help you narrow your focus and decide what kind of investing you’re likely to do well with. Be honest with yourself, and answer each question with a simple yes or no. Ready? Let’s get started.

1. Do you consider yourself a highly detailed and organized person?

2. Do you find it difficult or uncomfortable meeting new people and starting conversations with them?

3. Do you enjoy managing large projects and orchestrating the efforts of a group of people?

If you answered yes to the three questions above, your skills make you well suited to rehabbing properties. You may not succeed as a negotiator, so finding and flipping properties is something you probably should avoid, but if you can partner with a skilled deal-finder, handling the rehab projects is something you most likely would enjoy and be good at.

Here’s another set of questions.

1. Do you find it easy to get to know new people and start conversations with them?
2. Do people tend to trust you easily?
3. Do you like how it feels when you negotiate a great deal?
4. Do you dislike detailed work, or are you slightly disorganized?
5. Are you tenacious and persistent?

If you answered yes to at least 4 of the above questions, bird-dogging, wholesaling, and flipping may be right for you. Talking to sellers will be one of your strong suits, once you learn how. Building a list of buyers will probably come easier for you than it might for someone else. However, you should avoid taking on rehabs, or becoming a landlord. Those require more detail and organization than you possess.

Here’s the final group of questions.

1. Are you patient and not easily frustrated?
2. Can you be firm and direct when necessary?
3. Are you consistent and organized in you own personal finances and recordkeeping?

If these answers were yes, perhaps landlording and holding properties for rental would be a good fit for you. In fact, these traits are found in almost all successful, long-term landlords. On the other hand, not possessing these qualities is most likely why so many landlords get fed up with their tenants and wind up selling their properties at a big loss.

There is much more we could say on this topic, but by now you’re getting the idea. It’s vitally important to take a look at yourself truthfully. Ask yourself some hard questions, and use the answers to help determine if real estate investing will be one of the very best income opportunities for you, and which type of investing you are best prepared to excel at.

Now, go make more offers!