If you need to invest your money, where the returns could be decent and the risk is low, then real estate investing could be an excellent option. Your money would not take a frightening ride as in the stock market and the returns would be much higher than just keeping it in the bank.
If you are serious about entering the real estate market rather than enter into any deal blindly, try to hire an efficient and trusted real estate broker that can guide you towards the right deal. You can learn the ropes by observing and imitating your broker. Stick by your broker's side, in order to quickly learn the tricks of the real estate trade. Your broker can show you a wide variety of properties, thus making it easier for you to compare rates and features. Shortlist some properties and make it a point to visit the neighborhood to not only survey the property, but also to check the physical condition of the neighboring properties. Also check their rates. This will give you an indication, as to the market rate in the neighborhood.
It is better to start with a small and simple deal, before trying to enter into any niche markets such as foreclosures, short sales or rehabbing. Also check the demand for properties in that particular neighborhood, since that will ensure a quick flip for your property. You should also keep an alternate plan of action, in case your property does not appreciate as per your desire. You could either rent out your property or consider a lease option, where your prospective tenant would buy the property after a certain period at a predetermined price. These alternate routes will ensure that you always have a positive cash flow, even if the market does not support you.
Once you complete a few deals and have decided that real estate investing is definitely your cup of tea, and then you can explore the various niche markets within this vast market. You can enter the short sales niche, where you could contact a distressed homeowner unable to hold on to his/her home due to lack of funds to pay the mortgages. You will not only need to convince the homeowner to sell the property, but will also need to make a juicy offer to the lender or the bank, in order to convince them to stop the foreclosure process and sell you the property. Many lenders are aware that the property will fetch them an even lower price, if it is allowed to slide into a foreclosure auction and hence are willing to look at alternative ideas.
You could also develop contacts that would enable you to pick up properties from a foreclosure auction. You will need to have an ear to the foreclosure auction process, in order to pick up the right properties at highly discounted rates. Another niche that provides high profit margins is the rehabbing market. In this process, you could pick up older properties that require cosmetic improvements or new properties, where the owner has simply run out of money, in order to maintain it properly. You could either tie-up with an experienced contractor and rehab the place yourself, in order to sell it at a higher price or you could simply flip the property to another investor, who is willing to buy it.
A good network of brokers, agents, builders and lenders will help you to quickly settle down in the real estate market and by keeping your mind open to alternate ideas, you could quickly identify the right properties and earn high profits out of it.
