How Does Real Estate Investing Work

March 10, 2010 by Kenny Santos  
Filed under Real Estate Investing

A question often raised by brand new real estate investors, and those who would like to be, is ?How does real estate investing work?? I will attempt to provide you with a brief overview in this article, and hopefully you will have a better understanding of real estate investing and how you might become involved.

First of all, when answering the question, ?How does real estate investing work?? it?s important to begin by stating that there are almost as many different types of investing as there are investors.

You could become involved in commercial real estate investing. This would include many different kinds of property and types of investing, from strip malls to mobile home parks, from malls to apartment complexes. You could buy commercial property at bargain prices, and sell for immediate gain, or you could buy income property and hold for the long term. You could also combine the two, and realize income from both the increase in value and the month-to-month rent. Commercial property is an important consideration when answering the question, ?How does real estate investing work??

You could also get involved in any of a number of different strategies involving residential property, from single family homes, duplexes, small apartment houses, even mobile homes. When it comes to answering the question, ?How does real estate investing work?? the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

If you?re the type of person who enjoys projects, you might enjoy buying ?fixer-uppers? and rehabbing them. You could become a wholesaler or a bird-dog and find deals for other, more experienced investors, some of whom have already worked out the answer to the question, ?How does real estate investing work??

Maybe you like helping people? If so, working with buyers and sellers to solve their credit or payment problems will provide you with ample opportunity to profit from their dilemmas. You could also negotiate directly with the mortgage lender to buy houses, either in foreclosure or ?short sale? investing. A little investigation of these terms will give you a clearer picture of the answer to the question, ?How does real estate investing work??

Alternatively, you may have money to invest, but little or no time. You may find that investing as part of a group, or ?trust? is a good fit for you. These trusts can be very lucrative, and a good option for the less hands-on investor. Even very busy professionals find REIT?s (Real Estate Investment Trusts) a good choice when deciding for themselves, ?How does real estate investing work??

Hopefully, you?re curiosity has been piqued by this brief introduction to the question, ?How does real estate investing work??

Now, go make more offers!

Crush The Biggest Obstacle to Your Success in Real Estate… or Anything Else! Download my FREE report HERE!

Tom Dunn is a successful real estate investor and author of the popular DealFiles Real Estate Investor Stories free newsletter. You are welcome to share this report, unedited and in it’s entirety, with anyone you like. You may not remove this text.? 2007 by Tom Dunn. Website: http://www.dealfiles.com e-mail: tom@dealfiles.com

Commercial Real Estate Investing

March 9, 2010 by Kenny Santos  
Filed under 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

Make Money In Real Estate Investing By Using Other People’s Money

March 7, 2010 by Kenny Santos  
Filed under Real Estate Investing

What is the first rule of real estate investing. Most real estate experts tell you “Leverage - Using Other People’s Money?.

Most real estate investors want 100% financing for a hand full of houses they intend to purchase or they request that the owner finance the property. The strategy is to buy and hold a handful of rental properties for a few years until the equity in the property has increased.

Then they either refinance all the properties or sell all the properties of take all the equity out and then retire rich with millions of dollars in equity or a healthy cash flow to sustain the lifestyle.

Within a thirty year period of time real estate market will have at least five downturns. The value of property in some areas can hit the bottom just as you decide to retire. The real estate investor of today does not want to wait thirty years to cash in and live the life.

Real estate investors diversifying their investment activities. Some are doing quick turn around transactions in addition to the long term buy and hold. If you are an investor. The theory of quick turn around transactions is finding distressed property get it under contract and sell it to another investor for a quick $5,000 - $15,000.

Some investors are doing short sales and pocketing more cash. Being house rich and cash poor can put many investors in a crunch if some crisis happens. Not having the money to close a good deal prevents some investors from cashing in on lucrative transactions. The first thing new investors need to understand is that lack of money should never be an issue when you plan.

Combine the buy and hold method with the quick-turn-around investment strategy to put cash in your pocket within a matter of weeks rather than years. If you find a good deal with lots of equity sitting in the property be sure you can re-finance within a short period of time to get the equity out and into another high yield interest investment fund that you can access when you find the next good deal.

Use ARMs with low start rates that give you 3 - 5 year before they reach their max. Refinance all your property with low start ARM?s and put the excess money in an account that builds your equity twice as fast. This financing alternative allows your tenant to make the full house payment while you pocketing Your money. No negative cash flow.

Set up lines of credit for your business. You may never need them but in case you do the money is sitting there waiting for you to use it to create more wealth. With a line of credit versus a loan, you only have to pay for the money you actually use.

To implement the strategies, you need to align yourself with as many funding sources that you can find. This strategy will insure that you can continue to add to your real estate empire or to maintain the empire that you have already built.

So, when you are building your real estate empire consider buy and hold strategies in addition to a quick turn-around transaction approach to investing. Build your funding sources so that you are ready to make the offer and close the deal.

Make more money in in real estate investing by learning how to properly find and evaluate property at http://www.successful-real-estate-investing-tips.info, a popular real estate investing website that offers advice, resources and tips to include information on flipping property, forclosures, rental property investing and commercial real estate investing.

Real Estate Investing For Newbies - Intro To Foreclosure Basics

March 4, 2010 by Kenny Santos  
Filed under Real Estate Investing


 

Real Estate Investing For Newbies - Intro To Foreclosure Basics

Submitted By: Chris Parks
 
 

By now of course you know foreclosures are at an all-time high in our country. Nevertheless it is another Real Estate Investing niche that has given many people great potential for making money.

One of the most important things to remember about foreclosure investing is that there are many details to consider. It is not difficult, per se, and once you become familiar with all of the small details you can achieve success in no time at all.

The first thing you need to know about foreclosure investing is how it works.

Basically, a foreclosure is a property that the bank owns due to the fact that the owner of the property neglected to follow the terms and conditions of his/her mortgage, which usually means a failure pay his or her mortgage. In turn, the bank that owns these properties is forced to sell them back to the public in order to recover the money that they lost.

And to go along with this, the bank often attempts to sell foreclosures quickly because they are not making any money by holding onto them. All of this works out to the advantage of a foreclosure investor.

Because homeowners have heard or read about the profit potential, most people facing foreclosure will usually try every option available before selling to a Real Estate Investor. Let’s face it, they know that as Real Estate Investors we are only going to offer a certain percentage of what the property is worth on the open market, but look at the alternative.

The home will be auctioned off. The homeowner will get nothing in terms of money, will lose all of their equity in the house, and have a foreclosure on their credit report. This will probably prevent the homeowner from being able to qualify for another loan for several years.

Depending on the situation the Real Estate Investor, in exchange for control of the property may offer the homeowner a cash payment, make up the missed mortgage payments, and pay all of the penalties and legal costs that have accumulated. In essence the property is brought to a current status and the foreclosure process is effectively stopped.

Real Estate Investors have really helped homeowners in this situation whether they realize and appreciate it or not.

So our job is to find homeowners who are facing foreclosure and either pass on or work the lead to see if we can buy the property. The main thing that makes the foreclosure process very complicated is that it varies from state to state.


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Real Estate Investing: Buy To Rent, No Money Down

March 2, 2010 by Kenny Santos  
Filed under Real Estate Investing

The market for rental houses is as strong as the demand for new homes. Why not have your cake and eat it too through buying to rent!
With home sales at a record high, it might surprise you to know there is an equally strong market for rental properties. A constantly moving population of business professionals and financial over extension in the 1990s are the primary reasons why an ever-increasing number of people will be renting suitable properties instead of buying a home this year. This is great news for real estate investors!

The robust house rental market is allowing smart investors to have their cake and eat it too. Instead of buying a home, fixing it up and trying to flip it for a profit, real estate investors can turn the home into a rental which provides a positive monthly cash flow. And the home is always there to be sold if the need arises.

It varies by region and the typical age of houses in a particular area, but the general rule for purchasing a property thats optimum for becoming a rental is a house less the fifteen years old with easy access to major highways and shopping areas. Homes should never be out in the middle of nowhere and always less then a forty-five minute drive to major business areas. Three bedroom houses that have central air conditioning and come with all major appliances (including a washer and dryer) are likely to fetch a higher monthly rent.

Many investors shy away from rentals because theyve heard the horror stories told by landlords who chose the wrong tenants. But that has become the exception to the rule. Most people who need to rent a home have good credit, a solid record of on time rent payment and solid employment. Some are professionals whose job requires frequent relocation. Others have purchased a new home and are waiting for it to be built. In places like Phoenix where I live, a population boom has extended the waiting time to move into a new home.

Finding qualified tenants has become easier with inexpensive credit and background checks. Anyone that wants to rent a house knows a credit and background check is all but mandatory. You can avoid tenant nightmares by refusing to rent to anyone with evictions, bankruptcies or judgments against them. Ironically, people with all those things on their credit report can actually purchase a home to live in or rent out with no money down.

There are a number of ways for anyone to purchase homes, apartment buildings or other properties regardless of credit or employment history. All it takes is the right information and persistence. The lazy need not apply, but the rewards are substantial for those who try.

more at http://billknell.tripod.com/buy/money.html

About the Author

A native New Yorker now living in Arizona, Bill Knell is a forty-something guy with a wealth of knowledge and experience. He’s written hundreds of articles on a wide variety of subjects. A popular Speaker, Bill Knell presents seminars on a number of topics that entertain, train and teach. A popular radio and television show Guest, you’ve heard Bill on thousands of top-rated shows in all formats and seen him on local, national and international television programs.

Real Estate Investing: Buy To Rent, No Money Down

March 2, 2010 by Kenny Santos  
Filed under Real Estate Investing

The market for rental houses is as strong as the demand for new homes. Why not have your cake and eat it too through buying to rent!
With home sales at a record high, it might surprise you to know there is an equally strong market for rental properties. A constantly moving population of business professionals and financial over extension in the 1990s are the primary reasons why an ever-increasing number of people will be renting suitable properties instead of buying a home this year. This is great news for real estate investors!

The robust house rental market is allowing smart investors to have their cake and eat it too. Instead of buying a home, fixing it up and trying to flip it for a profit, real estate investors can turn the home into a rental which provides a positive monthly cash flow. And the home is always there to be sold if the need arises.

It varies by region and the typical age of houses in a particular area, but the general rule for purchasing a property thats optimum for becoming a rental is a house less the fifteen years old with easy access to major highways and shopping areas. Homes should never be out in the middle of nowhere and always less then a forty-five minute drive to major business areas. Three bedroom houses that have central air conditioning and come with all major appliances (including a washer and dryer) are likely to fetch a higher monthly rent.

Many investors shy away from rentals because theyve heard the horror stories told by landlords who chose the wrong tenants. But that has become the exception to the rule. Most people who need to rent a home have good credit, a solid record of on time rent payment and solid employment. Some are professionals whose job requires frequent relocation. Others have purchased a new home and are waiting for it to be built. In places like Phoenix where I live, a population boom has extended the waiting time to move into a new home.

Finding qualified tenants has become easier with inexpensive credit and background checks. Anyone that wants to rent a house knows a credit and background check is all but mandatory. You can avoid tenant nightmares by refusing to rent to anyone with evictions, bankruptcies or judgments against them. Ironically, people with all those things on their credit report can actually purchase a home to live in or rent out with no money down.

There are a number of ways for anyone to purchase homes, apartment buildings or other properties regardless of credit or employment history. All it takes is the right information and persistence. The lazy need not apply, but the rewards are substantial for those who try.

more at http://billknell.tripod.com/buy/money.html

About the Author

A native New Yorker now living in Arizona, Bill Knell is a forty-something guy with a wealth of knowledge and experience. He’s written hundreds of articles on a wide variety of subjects. A popular Speaker, Bill Knell presents seminars on a number of topics that entertain, train and teach. A popular radio and television show Guest, you’ve heard Bill on thousands of top-rated shows in all formats and seen him on local, national and international television programs.

The Key to the Real Estate Investing Vault

February 26, 2010 by Kenny Santos  
Filed under Real Estate Investing

Why do so many people struggle to get going in real estate investing? Many creative real estate investors get burned out because investing just eats up their time and energy. It drains them to be constantly making cold calls, driving neighborhoods and knocking doors. They cling to every little lead that comes along, whether it is a motivated seller or not.

I imagine you are attracted to real estate investing to enjoy success. You want to be in control of your time and your income. So what is the secret?

***A Continuous Stream of Motivated Sellers Who Contact You***

To make money in real estate investing you have to close deals. To close deals you need to find deals. Creative real estate investing deals come from finding motivated sellers with a problem that you can solve.

There are two ways to find motivated sellers, you can chase after them or you can get them to come to you. Which do you prefer?

If you fill the pipeline with a stream of motivated sellers who CALL YOU, then you will not have a problem closing real estate investing deals on a regular basis. Let me outline the benefits to having the motivated sellers contact you.

1. The Motivated Seller Will Have an Open Mind Making Your Job Easier

When you go to the store and a salesperson approaches you, what is your response? Usually you put up a wall and try to get rid of them, right? No one likes a sales pitch. (Well, except for me because I am looking to learn from it, but I am a geek like that.) But when you go looking for something your mind is open. The motivated sellers you work with are the same. If they come to you, they will be predisposed to do business.

2. Negotiations on Your Real Estate Investing Deals Will be Easier

When a motivated seller comes to you first, you are in a stronger negotiating position.

Also, if you are producing a regular stream of leads you can pick and choose your real estate investing deals. You wont desperately cling to each lead. When you are in a position to say no and walk away with confidence, you will have the upper hand in negotiations.

3. You Will Save Loads of Time and Energy

Talking to a seller who is not really motivated is draining! You have probably experienced this a time or two or even a hundred. It is like pulling teeth to get the information you need and it usually leads nowhere but to discouragement.

When the sellers come to you, they already have a certain degree of motivation. You automatically weed out the time-wasters in your marketing.

To ultimately succeed in creative real estate investing without burning out, you need to get the motivated sellers to come to you on a consistent basis. This is done using marketing campaigns that are response-driven.

When I realized this, creative real estate investing became more enjoyable. My job got tons easier. It was exciting to try different marketing campaigns and to watch the motivated seller leads come in. This one little change in your real estate investing mindset can make all the difference in your success.

About the author:
Jason Van Orden has published many articles and courses on finding motivated sellers and succeeding in creative real estate investing. For more tips and a free course, visit http://www.Find-Real-Estate-Investing-Deals.com

The Importance Of A Real Estate Investing Budget

February 22, 2010 by Kenny Santos  
Filed under Real Estate Investing

Investing in real estate can be a great way to make money.

But at the same time, there are many details that you should look into as well.

One of the most important things to consider when it comes to real estate investing is your budget.

By having an investing budget you will be able to stay on track, and ensure that you do not get yourself into any hot water. Time and time again real estate investors make bad mistakes when it comes to their budget. Sometimes they can recover, and other times they may end up losing money. But one thing is for sure.

If you have an investing budget you will give yourself the best possible chance of staying out of financial trouble. And this is definitely something that you want to do.

When setting your investing budget be sure to consider every option. If you forget even one detail you may end up messing up your entire budget. So in order to make sure that your investing budget is as accurate as possible you will need to write it down.

This will give you what you need in order to analyze your situation, and then determine what your investing budget is.

One thing to remember about your investing budget is that it can change as time goes by. After you have one property making you a steady income you may want to invest in another and if this is the case you will have more money to do so thanks to your first investment being a success.

For this reason, it is important that you rethink your investing budget on a regular basis. Of course you only have to do this if your situation has changed at all.

Do not make the mistake of getting involved with real estate investing if you do not have a concrete budget in place. There is no good that can come from this. Remember, detailing an investing budget is not difficult. Sure, you will have to put in a few hours or so, but in the long run it will be well worth your time.

Overall, an investing budget is one detail that is important if you are going to get involved with real estate. If you can master your own budget, you will be able to more easily make money in the real estate industry.

About the Author:

Claim a free e-book that will show you a system used to control $4.1million worth of real estate for just $22 - and you can follow this system to do the same. Comes with resale rights from: Free Real Estate Fortunes Ebook

How to Start Investing in Real Estate - How to Start Investing in Real Estate Guide

February 20, 2010 by Kenny Santos  
Filed under Real Estate Investing

Many people are discovering that building home, renovating properties, and selling real estate for profit is a great way to make a living. But unless you know how to start investing in real estate, you?re left out in the cold. How can you get involved, and get in on the all cash flow action?

If you want to know how to start investing in real estate, you?re on the right track. Real estate investing isn?t something you can jump into; there are skills that need to be learned before success can happen. Learning how to start investing in real estate is important, because if you don?t know what you?re doing then you don?t stand a good chance of making money. And money is what real estate investing in all about.

In fact, you?ll need money just to get the start you need. Real estate investors spend their own money to buy property, then spend even more of their money to get that property ready for sale. The goal of all of this is to spend less money than what the property is eventually sold for. This is how real estate investors make their profit, and how many of them make their living. But money isn?t all you need to start investing in real estate.

For those who have the money, time, and smarts to make real estate a success, property investments can pay off in a big way. But real estate investing isn?t something that everyone can do. If you want to know how to start investing in real estate, you have to be committed to the property you buy. It?s your money, it?s your future, and you?ll probably want to take a very hands-on approach to make sure your investment brings back a great profit.

In order to succeed at real estate investing, the property you invest in must be sold. To get your money back, and to get that profit that?s so needed, you have to give buyers what they want. You want the property you?re selling to be attractive, livable, and worth all the time and effort you put into it. Budget for renovations carefully, and try to stick within these financial constraints. The more you spend on your property, the smaller your profits will be. But it?s a fine line to walk ? spend too little, and you may not get the sale price you?re asking for.

To get started investing in real estate, pay attention to the property market. Find out what?s selling, for how much, and in what areas. Some areas are going to have properties that take a long time to sell, and you may not want to waste your time here. Choose hot locations, good properties, and something that?s in your budget. Running out of money when you?re investing in real estate means losing your entire investment. You have to finish what you started, so many sure you don?t put all your money into just one property. When you know how to start investing in real estate, you open up great potential for your future success.

… Whats this Article Helpful?……..Imagine A Real Estate Multi-Millionaire Guru at Your Finger tips. abcs-of-real-estate-investing.com

3 Good Reasons Why You Should use an Attorney for Your Real Estate Investing

February 19, 2010 by Kenny Santos  
Filed under Real Estate Investing

Skimping on attorney fees could cost you more than you bargained for when investing in real estate. New real estate investors often save money on their rehabs by cutting corners, doing work themselves and trying not to spend any money to make money. When it comes to having a good real estate attorney though be prepared to spend away.

You have to ask yourselves what you are willing to pay for a piece of mind especially if you deal with tenants. A few good contracts written up by your attorney will easily be worth it after your first eviction or foreclosure.

You can find hundreds of template contracts and real estate forms on the Internet, but just how legal are they? Ask yourselves why they almost always recommend you have your own attorney look them over anyway.

There are hundreds of reasons to use a real estate attorney in your wealth building, but here are my three favorites:

Title opinions. In some states you are required to buy title insurance to guarantee the marketability of your property. In others it is recommended to get a title opinion. A title opinion is the opinion of an Attorney regarding the merchantability of title based upon the title examination and commonly is written to a lending institution who will rely on this title opinion for the validity and ranking of its mortgage. This process could get pretty complex especially when dealing with vacant, bank owned and estate property.

Tenant Forms. If you have rental units it is imperative that you have a real estate attorney look over your documents to make sure that the language is specific to your situation and state. Tenant law in Iowa may not be the same as tenant law in Nevada. Trust me, if any wording is wrong in your 3-day notice or eviction paper work the magistrate or judge will spout out some state statute, your tenant will get to stay and you will have to start all over.

Leads. Attorneys can be a great source for leads. Motivated sellers often come from extenuating circumstances like divorces, bankruptcies and estates. If you have a good relationship with a real estate attorney perhaps you can help his clients out when they find themselves in situations like any of the above.

If you are new to real estate investing a real estate attorney should be on your team anyway, if you don’t have one yet be sure to find one fast. Your realtor or banker should be able to recommend a good one for you.

About the Author

Robb Beltran is an active real estate investor and publisher of the Real Estate Info Network. The Real Estate Info Network promotes real estate education through real estate seminars, e-books and real estate investing courses. www.realestateinfonetwork.com www.belstarproperties.com

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