Real Estate Information

How to Become a Successful Real Estate Investor


Many folks dream of becoming real estate investors, but not everyone has what it takes. If you're dreaming of becoming an investor, here are several important questions to consider, long before you buy your first investment property:

1) Why would a homeowner sell a house at a bargain price?

Many things happen in people's lives that make their home suddenly become a burden. Loss of income, divorce, or illness are the most common, but sometimes a homeowner dies, leaving a home that none of their heirs wants. In any case, the home has become a problem, which is where you, as an investor, come in. The homeowners, or the heirs, have a problem, and you must find a way to offer a solution.

2) What types of houses should you look for?

Besides being owned by someone who no longer wants or can afford to stay in a property, you want to find a home that's only tired, and not in need of structural work in order to favorably compete with similar houses on the market. We call that type of house a "doghouse."

3) How do you find doghouses?

Your real estate agent can scan the MLS listings, looking for fixer-uppers, handyman specials, or as-is houses. You can also find similar properties yourself, using the local newspaper or shopper.

4) Should you try to close quickly?

This is an important step in becoming successful, because beleaguered sellers will almost always be in need of money in as short a time as possible. Get yourself prequalified and preapproved for a loan, so you can close on the property quickly. Being able to let sellers know they'll get paid fast will consistently net you more houses than your competition.

5) How do you flip houses fast?

Find ugly homes, in good neighborhoods, that need as little work as possible. Clean them up, paint them inside and out, and install a neutral shade of new carpet, and you should be able to flip the home in a short amount of time. Always keep your limitations in mind. Hiring professionals for repairs will cut into your profit margin.

Asking yourself these questions will help get you started in your real estate investment career, and keeping these answers in mind at all times will keep you from making costly mistakes as you buy and sell investment properties.

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm


MORE RESOURCES:

Boston Globe

Hypo Real Estate's Viermetz Steps Down After Bailout (Update1)
Bloomberg - 17 hours ago
By Nandini Sukumar and Oliver Suess Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Kurt Viermetz quit as supervisory board chairman of Hypo Real Estate Holding AG, five days after ...
Hypo Real Estate chairman resigns after bail-out Monsters and Critics.com
New HRE CEO Wieandt steps into the limelight guardian.co.uk
UPDATE 1-Hypo Real Estate gets access to credit line Reuters
International Herald Tribune - Reuters
all 147 news articles


Wall Street Journal

Hypo Real Estate Denies Report It Withheld Data on Liquidity
Bloomberg - Oct 9, 2008
By Oliver Suess and Karin Matussek Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Hypo Real Estate Holding AG, the commercial property lender that needed a revised 50 billion-euro ...
Video: Wells Fargo's bid for Wachovia ReutersVideo
German Govt rescues Hypo Real Estate in a Euro 50 bn package Hindu
Germany Rescues Hypo Real Estate Deutsche Welle
MarketWatch - Bloomberg
all 861 news articles


Forestar Real Estate Group to Release Third Quarter 2008 Results ...
MarketWatch - 13 hours ago
The conference call may also be accessed through Forestar Real Estate Group's Internet site, www.forestargroup.com, by clicking on "Investor Relations ...
Forestar Real Estate Group to Release Third Quarter 2008 Results ... PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)
all 8 news articles


Triad group to give real estate tour The Business Journal of the ...
Bizjournals.com, NC - 15 hours ago
The Triad Dealmakers Symposium announced that it will give a tour of key commercial real-estate projects in Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point. ...


Movoto.com Expands Real Estate Search Service to South Texas ...
MarketWatch - 16 hours ago
Movoto's tools make home buying easy with access to an unrivaled quantity of homes for sale, statistics and proprietary real estate information and an ...
Movoto adds Houston homes to listings Bizjournals.com
all 8 news articles


eawood real estate agent pleads guilty in mortgage fraud scheme
Bizjournals.com, NC - 18 hours ago
A Leawood real estate agent pleaded guilty to several charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme that federal prosecutors say bilked lenders for more than ...
Kansas man pleads guilty in $12M home loan scheme Forbes
all 19 news articles


Weak real estate continues to draw down Bank of Florida earnings
Bizjournals.com, NC - 19 hours ago
The bank said in a release announcing preliminary third quarter results that continued weakness in real estate values caused it to set aside more money for ...
Bank of Florida Corp. Provides Preliminary Third Quarter 2008 Results Business Wire (press release)
LAFAYETTE, CA, Oct 10, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- California ... MarketWatch
Bank of Florida reports $3.4M third quarter loss Naples Daily News
all 50 news articles


San Diego Business Journal

REAL ESTATE DEALS
Orange County Business Journal, CA - 44 minutes ago
Scott Smith of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. represented the seller. Young Kim of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp. represented the ...
Commercial Real Estate Downturn Steers Clear of Oceanside San Diego Business Journal
all 2 news articles


TEXT-Moody's on Hypo Real Estate Bank International AG notes
Forbes, NY - 18 hours ago
... EMEA CMBS transactions as described in the Rating Methodology report 'Update on Moody's Real Estate Analysis for CMBS Transactions in EMEA', June 2005. ...


Newly muddled world of real estate
National Post, Canada - 1 hour ago
This is an uneasy time for residential real estate. If you're selling, you wish you'd sold six months ago; that is if you had a choice. If you're buying, ...

Real-Estate - Google News

home | site map
© 2006