Real Estate Investing - A Money Making Proposition? Real estate is the basis of all wealth - Theodore Roosevelt One of the main topics of conversation at dinner and cocktail parties invariably is what kind of investment business is the best? The two front runners always seem to be stocks and real estate. So which one is better? Well, personally I have not bought any stock that has done well, but I have bought lots of properties that have put several hundreds of thousands of dollars in my Continue Reading …

Real Estate Foreclosures - What and Why... Foreclosure, in simplistic terms, is the process that the lender initiates when the borrower of a loan, against a property, falls behind in making the monthly payments to the lender. When a lender lends money to a home buyer, the lender makes the most money on the interest payments that the borrower makes per the loan agreement.From the lenders perspective, if the borrower pays the loan per the loan agreement, then it’s a great investment. Continue Reading …

What does it take to be a real estate investor? Obviously, it’s not that hard, because all sorts of people, from all walks of life and all sorts of backgrounds are doing it successfully. On the other hand, it’s obviously not that easy either, or more people would be doing it. Creativity And Problem Solving So what does it take to be a successful investor? First of all, you have to be creative. A good investor is a problem solver. If people did not have problems, they would not pay real Continue Reading …

If you’re rehabbing properties, go for non-conventional financing instead of the standard 30-year fixed. Non-conventional lenders are sometimes private parties (folks sitting on piles of cash) or companies in the business of providing cash to investors and earning a nice rate as they do. Interest Only Mortgages Are Interesting An interest-only mortgage is an excellent option on a rehab since you don’t care about building equity over the long term. You want to take control of the property, Continue Reading …

There are a lot of reputable and reliable contractors in the real estate industry. On the flip side, some of these guys do things that leave you with headaches, backaches and bank aches! Contractors Will Try To Getaway With Murder Quitting in the middle of the job, beg for gas money, and attempt to overcharge on invoices, hoping you won't notice are just a few examples of the bad apples that spoil the barrel. I even had one who patched a hole in the drywall with masking tape and painted over Continue Reading …

I often get asked "What is the minimum business setup I should have when starting off in real estate investing"? Here is what I think: - Minimum Things Required Setup PO Box. It is a good idea to set up a PO Box to receive your business mail. Mailbox Etc and other similar stores have a way where the address of your box would be written as a suite number such as 45322 Street Name Suite #6, City, State Zip which is better than PO Box 798, City, State Zip.Getting a PO Box is relatively Continue Reading …

Should You Do A For-Sale-By-Owner (FSBO)In a word – NO!!First, FSBOs only account for 8% of all home sales in the U.S. Most home buyers want to work through an agent for their own protection. In fact, the “buyer’s agent” is standard in some parts of the country.Second, because you’ve limited your market to 8% of the total, that property won’t sell as quickly, costing you profit dollars every month you make that mortgage payment. The idea is to sell it fast and move on to the next Continue Reading …

Selling The Property Yourself? If you’ve decided you can sell or "flip" your investment property on your own without the help of a listing agent there are some specific real estate investment strategies that will help the process and get your investment in escrow quicker. If you want to avoid paying high commissions to a real estate agent and think you can do just as good a job without an agent, think again. You may be able to forgo a listing agent but chances are you’ll end up paying a Continue Reading …

Investing In Foreclosure - A Sound Strategy Foreclosures are popping up in many areas of the country that haven’t seen these types of transactions in a while. But now as REOs (Real Estate Owned) flood the market, investors out there are starting to consider these types of investments as an addition to their portfolio. Should you be buying foreclosures? Buying a foreclosure is just as easy as buying an investment property from an owner/seller if you know what to look for and the process Continue Reading …