Leo Love asked:

Hi,
Welcome to my site. Have you thought about getting into real estate investing? Well like every thing else, too be successful you need to plan. All the best people in their chosen fields all say that the way to success is to plan. If you have a plan in place, when you achieve what you are after, then it can be signed off as a success.

That is the definition of success, completing something. It does not matter how small the job is, the point is, completing it. This is also so important in Real Estate Investing. Preplanning is the key to real estate investing success.

If you were going to run a marathon, you would need to train for it. You would not just turn up on the day and run 42 miles. You would not be able to do it! The same is so in real estate investing if you haven’t planned and set up all your key players you are lowering your chances of real estate investing success.

Planning should start well before you buy your property. There are systems and associations that you need to have in place. So when you come across a property that you want to buy (or sell if that is the case), you can confidently go ahead with the transaction with no annoying hold ups or complications. Hold ups and complications can cost you money or worse still, you risk loosing the deal altogether.

Real estate investing success is all about proper planning. Make this your first assignment when you are thinking about setting up your real estate investing portfolio.

To your investing success

Leo Love

PS Feel free to pass this on to your family and friends if they are interested

Scottsdale Real Estate Expert

Jeanette Joy Fisher asked:

In teleseminars and college classes for beginning real estate investors, this is the most frequently asked question.

Investors want to know:How do you find a bargain house?

If you want to get started investing in real estate, here are five ways to find bargain houses.

Meet your neighbors. The best way to find properties is to get to know the people in a selected neighborhood. Pick out your “farm,” just like any good listing agent. Get out of your car and walk around the neighborhood. Talk to people outside. Meet your bankers. Ask your bank if they have a REO department–real estate owned. Get to know the bankers who work in the RIO department and ask them to notify you of new properties. Ask for the Internet link to their web page with current listings. Meet your real estate agents. Identify the most active listing agents. Look for agents whose listings sell quickly. Many of these agents consistently list properties low. Also, find an agent who knows how to negotiate and who will make many offers for you. Tell your friends, family, and co-workers that you buy houses. Give them your business cards and ask them to pass them on. Make new friends. Talk to people you meet while shopping. Give them a post card with your information. Post cards stand out more than business cards and won’t get lost.

Get to be the expert in ONE area. People will tell you when they want to sell. You have to know the area well to know when you find a bargain house and be ready to close fast.

That’s the key–stay finance ready. People love to get out from under their problem house right away. When you have financing pre-arranged, you can really get the best deal–because sellers take you seriously.

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

Caffeinated Content

Dr.Phil Speer asked:

Imagine making $5000 a year from real estate investing without recognizing you are real estate investing!

Real estate values are so dynamic. The marketplace is always fluid and changing. The only constant is the eventual escalation of value.

Suppose you had owned that little piece of property in your neighborhood years ago where McDonald’s is located today. If you had owned it for 20 or 30 years, what would your profit be from that sale?

Real estate values fluctuate in cycles and according to a myriad of owner situations. However, the price of real estate almost always goes up.

Let me give you a real-life example. (And if you are old enough, you have your own similar story!)

In 1970 I bought a little house in the Green Hills section of Nashville for $27,000. You know it wasn’t much because of the price. But it was home, and the location was respectable.

In 1978 I sold that house for a bigger house in Green Hills. The sales price for that little house I sold was $67,000.

That’s when the light bulb went off in my head! I suddenly realized that I had profited $40,000 from that little house in only eight years. I hadn’t added any more rooms or a patio. And I hadn’t even painted. I was witnessing first-hand how property values increase, often drastically!

I made a $5000 profit per year from that house, just from living in it.

It was an amazing discovery to me. It had been a reality forever, but it was no longer a vicarious experience in my mind. It was alive, because it was happening to me. And it changed my view of the world. That personal experience led me to start a real estate investing career.

I still live in Green Hills, and I pass that house every day on the way to the post office. That house recently sold for $200,000. Same size. Same location. But a phenomenal increase in value.

Asset growth from $27,000 to $200,000 is pretty astounding. And while the asset growth ratio varies from property to property (and city to city), real estate values generally increase. Even owning and maintaining your personal residence is cash generation right under your nose. I can’t believe I was so dumb not to see it before it became so apparent.

If even home ownership can be so profitable, can you fathom the profitability in real estate investing?

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