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For single family homes, there are two basic methods used in real estate appraisal. They are replacement cost analysis, and using comparable sales. A third appraisal method, based on capitalization, is used for income properties, and is covered in another article.

In figuring replacement cost the question is: What would it cost to buy this land and put this house on it? If the land (improved) would cost $40,000, and the house could be built for $150,000, the value indicated would be around $190,000 – if the house is fairly new. If it has used up 10% of its useful life, you can deduct $15,000 for depreciation.

Replacement cost is not really a very useful measurement. It is difficult to say what the land is worth in a city center where none is left for sale, for example, and tough to gauge depreciation. It is used as a secondary method, and for unique homes that can’t be compared easily with others. The primary method of real estate appraisal used for homes is a market analysis using comparable sales.

Real Estate Appraisal 101

To get a good idea of what a home should sell for, you need to compare it to homes that have sold. Find at least three similar homes in the same area that have sold within the last year, preferably within the last six months. This information is available in the county records, or from a real estate agent with access to the MLS (multiple listing service).

Now the confusing part. You start with the selling price of each of your comparables. If your subject home has a second bathroom, and the a comparable doesn’t, you add the value of the bathroom to the sales price of the comparable. If a comparable home has a blacktop driveway, and the subject home doesn’t, you take the value away.

You are rectifying differences, to see what comparable homes would have sold for if they were like yours. So if a comparable sold for $140,000, and a bathroom is worth $15,000 in your area (ask a real estate agent for help with these figures), you ADD $15,000 for the bathroom it doesn’t have. Then you subtract, say $4,000, for the paved driveway it does have. This gives you a comparable sales price of $151,000.

You do this with all differences between the subject home and each comparable. When done, you average the three comparable prices. So if the three comparables have adjusted sales prices of $151,000, 162,000, and 149,000, you add the three figures and divide by three. The indicated value of the home is $154,000.

Of course all appraisal is an inexact science. If you can only find comparables sold over a year ago, you have to estimate appreciation in the area. If one sold with seller financing, you have to decide how this affected the price. For all of it’s flaws, however, for single family homes, this is the most accurate method of real estate appraisal.

After years of hyper appreciation, the last 18 months has seen a major cool down in the real estate market. Given this change in direction, will real estate prices rebound?

Well, of course they will. Real estate has always been viewed as a good long-term investment. Nothing has occurred that changes that basic assumption. The short-term situation is a bit rocky, but it is only because we are going through a correction after watching the real estate bubble expand and expand for six years. Predictably, the air is coming out of the bubble, but at least it did not burst.

The more relevant question for people in the real estate market is not whether prices will rebound, but when? Ah, here we enter the realm of the mystic. The Harry Potter of real estate if you will.

The bold faith truth is nobody has a clue when they will rebound. On the positive side, we are starting to see things even out a bit across much of the country. On the negative side, financing for real estate purchase is tightening up as lender begin to realize they probably should not be giving money out like candy on Halloween. In the case of subprime lenders, the game is up for many of them and bankruptcy court looms.

At its financial heart, the real estate market is just a product market. Many people fail to take this into account when sizing up real estate opportunities. A home is a place you live in and raise a family. When it comes time to buy or sell, however, it is really no different than buying or selling a car. Yes, you had some good times with it, but now it something to be moved.

If you can wrap you mind around the idea a home is a product, you have a better chance of predicting when prices will rebound. Why? Well, it all comes down to inventory. When there is more inventory than demand, prices drop. When demand out paces inventory, prices go up.

At the moment, there is an absolute ton of inventory on the market and only modest demand. During the booming real estate market, developers where building homes as fast as they could. As the market cooled off, developers kept building like there was no problem. This has resulted in a glut of properties in most cities and high population areas. Developers are now offering very attractive deals to move the homes, but the market will not rebound till most of these are gone.

It is important to understand that inventory is important, but the number of houses sold is less so. If you see reports that the number of homes being sold is picking up, it is good news. That being said, it may not be great news. Such reports can be misleading because they do not take into account the reason a home is sold. If more homes are being moved because sellers are cutting prices, it does not mean that prices are on the rise again.

Will home prices rise again? Of course. You just need to be patient and watch the inventory.

Lead generation is one of the hottest topics in the real estate industry, and with good reason. Leads are the first step in the business relationship. So without them, you have no business.

But real estate lead generation is also one of the most confusing topics for new real estate agents (and even some of the veterans). In fact, ever since I’ve been involved with real estate marketing, one of the most frequent questions I get is: “How do I generate real estate leads?”

Rethinking Lead Generation

My goal with this article is to change the way you think about lead generation. Back in the “old days,” purchasing real estate leads was a popular strategy. And while a lot of agents still use this approach to real estate lead generation, it is by far NOT the most effective way to go about it.

Think about it for a moment. When you purchase real estate leads, you are basically buying the names and phone numbers of people who (A) don’t know you, (B) haven’t asked to be contacted by you, and (C) could very well have an agent by the time you contact them.

In other words, you will be cold-calling strangers, in an age when cold calls are dying out. This is not the best way to approach real estate lead generation. When I listed a home on the MLS a few years back, I was annoyed at the number of real estate folks who contacted me each day. “Do you have an agent? Need help selling your home? Can I come over and give you a CMA?” It struck me as both desperate and annoying. There is a better approach to real estate lead generation!

Make People Want to Contact You

One of the best things you can do to generate real estate leads is to make people actually want to contact you. Think about the difference in mindset here. In the previous scenario of cold calling, you are contacting strangers who don’t know anything about you. And because we live in an age of skepticism, they will have a level of distrust right from the start.

But instead of contacting strangers to introduce yourself, what if they contacted you and introduced themselves? For one thing, they would be much more inclined to listen to what you have to say. They would be more trusting and receptive as well. In other words, you would have a much easier time building a business relationship with them. Now that’s the way to go about real estate lead generation!

How to Generate a Response

Sure, having people call or email you is the ideal scenario for lead generation. But how do you go about it? How do you motivate people to initiate that critical first contact? Well, there are several things you need to do. Here’s a summary:

1. Be Visible

Obviously, people cannot contact you if they don’t know you exist. This is where your business visibility comes into play. Online visibility is a big part of this, which is why search engine optimization is such a hot topic among real estate agents. The more visible you are online, the more likely people will be to find you.

You can also increase your business visibility by publishing articles in your local newspaper, publishing articles and press releases online, being active in your community, conducting free seminars, and other aspects of PR. Visibility and awareness are the first steps to generating real estate leads.

2. Be Valuable

The agents who are most successful with real estate lead generation are those who understand the concept of “perceived value.” When a person perceives something as being valuable, they naturally want that thing. In real estate terms, this perceived value comes from many elements:

A real estate agent with unique knowledge of a certain niche … or one who offers access to the best listings … or one who has a proven (and illustrated) track record of client success … or one who streamlines the process by networking with mortgage folks …

These are all ways a real estate agent can increase his or her perceived value, which is the value your audience perceives you to have.

You can also create an item with a high perceived value, and you can in turn use this perception of value to generate leads. Let’s examine the concept of “free reports” as an example. Many agents use this approach to real estate lead generation, but they botch the strategy because the report in question does not have a high enough perceived value — not by a long shot.

A report entitled “Top Ten Home-Buying Tips” does not have a strong perceived value and therefore will not generate many leads. Why? Because (A) it is generic, (B) it does not identify closely enough with the target audience, and (C) it’s information that you can find anywhere. It is not exclusive “must read” information. It will not motivate the average reader.

So how do you increase the value of such a report? Easy. You make it a “must read” document. Instead of basic home buying tips, why not boost the value and put people under pressure to read the piece? Why not promote something like this: “Which Happytown Schools Are the Best? Exclusive Report Tells All.”

This kind of document would have a much better chance of motivating people and generating leads. It would be easy to tie into real estate, too, so most of your leads would be qualified ones. But this is just something I came up with off the top of my head. You could create an even better “hot button” report with a little imagination and knowledge about your community.

To take this approach even further, you can add a visual element. Have a graphic designer create an eye-catching cover for your report, along with some thumbnail-sized versions to put on your website.

3. Be Trustworthy

People don’t trust strangers. We talked about that already. So if you cold call people as a stranger, you already face an uphill climb in terms of real estate lead generation. The key, then, is to inspire trust among your target audience. This will help you overcome the natural skepticism people have and make them more likely to contact you.

How do you generate trust? Testimonials help, especially when you use the former client’s full name, photo, and neighborhood. A long track record helps too, as do professional certifications and sales awards (just be sure to tie these back to the success and satisfaction of your former clients).

You can also generate trust by sharing your expertise with people. A real estate blog is a great example of this. If you publish a real estate blog over a long period of time, and people find that blog online (through search engines or otherwise), they will feel as if they already know you a little. If you publish quality content, people will realize that (A) you know your market, (B) you are active in that market, and (C) you obviously like to help people. Suddenly, you’re not such a stranger … you’re a perfect candidate to be their real estate agent.

Lead Generation Success

Being visible, valuable and trustworthy will make your real estate lead generation efforts pay off in the long run. Is all this effort worthwhile? Well, let me ask you this. What would it be worth if you never had to call or email a stranger again? That’s a goal worth striving for, isn’t it? That’s the kind of thing that can happen when you change the way you think about lead generation.

* You may republish this article online if you retain the author’s byline and the active hyperlinks below. Copyright 2007, Brandon Cornett.

“A mistake that many people make when working with a real estate agent is the belief that they need to stick with the agent once they have contacted them. While it can be more difficult to get out of a contract with a real estate agent that is helping you sell your home, you are under no obligation to work with just one real estate agent when you are looking for a home to purchase. In fact, unless you have hired a buyer’s agent to help you find your home, you are perfectly within your rights to contact multiple real estate agents in order to find one that suits your needs and that you feel comfortable with.

If you have hired the agent to help you sell your home or if you have entered into a buyer’s agreement, getting out of your agreement can be a bit trickier. Nonetheless, it is possible.

Signs that You Should Part Ways With Your Real Estate Agent

Sometimes, you simply won’t see eye to eye with your real estate agent. If this is the case, you might need to part ways. Aside from small differences in views, you might find that you and the real estate agent simply cannot get on the same page at all. This can be a very frustrating and time-consuming experience – and it is completely unnecessary. More than likely, there is a real estate agent out there that will understand your needs and that will be more than happy to help you find what you are looking for.

If you find that you are raising your voice when talking to your real estate agent, you are probably in a bad situation. If you find yourself calling your agent bad names when you refer to him or her or if you are experiencing negative thoughts about your agent, it is time to start looking for a new agent. Similarly, if you find yourself avoiding your agent’s calls or if your agent is not calling you back, you likely have a bad relationship and it would be better for both of you to part ways.

Getting Out of Your Agreements

If you have entered into a contract with your real estate agent, you should try to end the contract based on mutual consent. If the agent refuses to bow out gracefully, you might need to request the help of a lawyer. Ideally, before you ever signed the contract, you should have checked on the agent’s policies for canceling the contract. Most reputable real estate agents will allow you to end the contract if you are unhappy with their services.

If you have entered into a listing agreement, you can ask the real estate agent to cancel the listing. If he or she refuses, contact the grocer and request a cancellation. If the broker will not cancel the listing, you can at least ask for a different agent. In most cases, however, the broker will allow you to get out of the listing because refusal to do so can scar his or her reputation. If the broker continues to refuse, let him or her know that you will be contacting a real estate lawyer for termination assistance. In many cases, just the threat of a lawyer is enough to get the broker to back down. “

Every couple of months while we’re driving from one property showing to the next a client says begrudgingly “you have such an easy job driving around looking at houses all day”. Yeah,right. The recent flurry of articles proclaiming that today’s real estate commissions are too high in relation to the amount of work agents do to receive them, haven’t provided the new Internet brokerage models large market shares. And haven’t convinced buyers and sellers to say “I wish I knew how to quit you” to realty agents.

It’s easy to stand on the outside looking in on the residential real estate industry and say, you’re overpaid. After working as a real estate broker full-time for nine years, I have to admit I’ve never worked harder. My typical day starts at 7 a.m. picking up email and voice mail, formatting electronic property brochures, editing virtual tours and booking print advertising for the coming weekends public open houses. During business hours the outwardly visible part of my day includes meetings, showing appointments, staging a new listing, returning phone calls, faxing documents, writing copy for a new listing, organizing a multi-day property tour with incoming relocation buyers, and all the other duties a sole proprietor is responsible for. It ends around 9 p.m. confirming an appointment to show a listing, receiving a counter-offer on a purchase contract and consoling a buyer who needs to back out of a contract because her boyfriend (who’s income is required for the mortgage) broke up with her. This goes on 24/7, 365 days a year.

In the purpose of full disclosure here is a list of what listing and buyer agents do. This list is excerpted from my second book “Starting and Succeeding in Real Estate” Thomson 2003.

Duties performed in the sale of a property.

Agent time and marketing expense to receive listing appointment.

Marketing material expense and time to prepare CMA (Comparative marketing analysis).

Actual time spent on listing appointment to review CMA.

Market knowledge to prepare CMA.

Actual time to meet with seller’s to sign listing agreement and related documents.

Prepare listing for market. Time and cost to prepare property brochures, order yard sign, take property photos, virtual tour, inputting into Multiple Listing Service, and marketing to other agents and public.

Time to prepare and hold brokers open house(s).

Time to prepare and hold public open house(s).

Telephone calls to set appointments.

Time spent traveling to and from property, showing property for each appointment.

Call property sellers with showing feedback.

Receive; return phone calls concerning property from public and agents.

Write ads, place ads in local/regional newspapers.

Receive contract and related documents on property, review and present to sellers.

Present acceptance/counteroffer to sellers

Counsel property sellers through negotiation.

Courier contract for changes, final signatures.

Courier earnest money deposit.

If condo procure and deliver condo declarations, by-laws, rules and application information.

Prepare brokerage worksheet for transaction.

Change property status in Multiple listing services.

Attend property inspection(s).

Negotiate inspection issues.

Contact and forward contract to attorneys, escrow agent and mortgage lender.

Communicate contract status to property seller and buyers agent.

Place under contract sign rider on for sale yard sign.

Set up and attend showing appointments for buyers to measure or have contractors, friends, and family to view property.

Set up and attend mortgage lenders appraiser’s visit to property.

Ongoing assorted phone calls/e-mail to transaction participants.

Prepare brokerage documents (closing statement, etc.) for closing.

Set up and attend final walk through before closing.

Time spent during and to, from closing location.

Attend closing.

Preparing and submitting final closed paperwork to brokerage on property.

Expense and time for client gift and thank-you.

For some seller’s: arrange for movers, inspection repairs, snow/yard maintenance, move out cleaning, utility shut off, winterizing of pipes, etc.

Duties performed in the purchase of a property.

Agent time and marketing expense to receive buyers call or email to meet with them.

Floor duty in office, weekly, monthly.

Attend office sales meetings, weekly, monthly.

Attend company sales/ award meetings.

Attend continuing education and professional development courses.

Time to prepare buyers packet for meeting.

Actual time spent meeting in office for first time with prospective buyers.

Meeting with prospective buyers to meet with mortgage lender.

Making appointments to preview properties.

Previewing potential properties for buyers.

Making appointments to view potential properties with buyers.

Accompanying buyers looking at potential properties.

Attending brokers open houses to view new inventories of homes for sale.

Write contract, disclosures etc. on buyer’s prospective property to purchase.

Deliver and present contract to seller’s agent and sellers.

Negotiate terms of contract to agreement.

Counsel buyers through negotiation.

Courier contract to buyers for sign off on changes as agreed upon in negotiation.

If condo procure and deliver condo declarations, by-laws, rules and application information.

Prepare brokerage worksheet for transaction.

Contact and forward contract to attorneys, escrow agent and mortgage lender.

Attend property inspections.

Negotiate issues.

Communicate contract status to buyers, attorneys and escrow agents.

Accompany buyers on property showings to measure, meet contractors or show property to friends and family.

Ongoing assorted phone calls/e-mail to transaction participants.

Prepare required brokerage documents for closing.

Set up and attend final walk through before closing.

Attend closing.

Purchase client thank-you gift and deliver.

Assist buyers with movers, repairs etc.

Post closing follow up with buyers.

As the world becomes increasingly more crowded and the cost of living rises, the idea a relaxing retirement may seem more like a dream than a realistic goal. However, there are still pockets of beachfront property available in Mexico’s Costa Maya region at a fraction of the cost of property in the US. Today, many retirees and self employed individuals have decided to stretch their dollar in this Caribbean paradise while also making a smart and profitable real estate investment. Here you’ll find a guide for foreign real estate investing in the Costa Maya region of Mexico.

Look for Recently Revitalized Areas

The best real estate deals are often those in places of natural beauty that have recently undergone a massive revitalization or beautification project. There so many areas of pristine coastline around the world often overlooked because they haven’t yet been rejuvenated to meet the tastes of those wishing to retire in tropical luxury.

Areas that have recently undergone government funded revitalization projects often remain off the radar of the real estate investment masses, and are great places to look for serious investment deals.

The Costa Maya project is the newest in a series of revitalization projects initiated by the Mexican government to increase the value of Costa Maya real estate. Previous projects included the rejuvenation of Acapulco and Cancun, both of which have proven extremely profitable in terms of real estate investment.

Seek out Areas with Emotional Appeal

Foreign real estate investments are usually most profitable in areas rich with emotional appeal and natural beauty. As the world becomes a more crowded place, areas of natural beauty that ignite a sense of freedom and peacefulness will continue to diminish.

As cities grow and sprawl, the remaining natural havens continue to increase in value. Costa Maya, a 57 mile strip along the Caribbean Sea, is rich with picturesque tropical natural beauty. Its deep blue skies, crystal clear oceans, and white sandy beaches remain raw and natural sanctuary just south of the tourist driven area of Cancun.

Much of the tropical real estate for sale in the Costa Maya region is just now available for development. New property owners are free to develop homes that compliment the laid back, tranquil, Caribbean lifestyle to further increase the land’s property value. A villa style home, just feet from the gently lapping Caribbean Sea will continue to increase in value as the rest of the world becomes increasingly more stressful and overpopulated.

Government Friendly Property Ownership Laws

Buying property in any foreign country requires a great deal of research and the assistance of an estate agent or local attorney. The laws of some countries are safer and friendlier to foreign buyers than others, and each has its own set of requirements for ownership.

The Mexican government offers property ownership opportunities that are friendly for foreign investors. As an adaptation to a historic law written to prevent Mexico from foreign invasion, investors are required to set up their own Mexican corporation. The property owner’s corporation technically owns the title to the land, protecting it within the laws of the country. Some property agencies have used this law as a lucrative source of revenue, charging buyers additional fees to set up corporations. To avoid this, look for property agents who offer help setting up corporations, trusts, and other legalities at no additional cost.

Governments set their own property use standards such soil regulations, zoning laws, etc. It’s important to look for a reputable property agent that guarantees the property is buildable according to the local and federal government regulations. You should be entitled to either a full refund to have the property brought up to compliance by the agent should your property be deemed not suitable according to government regulations.

Buying a tropical home in a foreign country is a very real opportunity. Those with a sense of adventure and the desire to live out their dreams can easily purchase their dream home in the setting they desire most while making a lucrative investment in their and their families future.

Beware of ads that tell you, when you buy our informational product you can make thousands of dollars in the Real Estate business. Because, when you get there informational product you don’t get all the information you need to achieve this goal. You will have to buy more and more of their products to get the secrets of their ads claiming your success.

I bought into these very ads myself, and paid way too much money for this same information, which is mainly common knowledge. I’m going to help you right now with these so called real estate money making secrets, and here they are:

Buying a home with no money down: Negotiating the down payment with owner financed and for sale by owner Real Estate.

Common version of getting cash back when buying a home: After 2 years of mortgage payments you refinance the home.

Making money as a Real Estate investor: Flipping Real Estate= buy at low cost and renovate for resale (This also includes the common version of getting cash back when buying a home).

Property Management: Buying Real Estate, and lease or rent your property to tenants. This has too much money involved in maintenance of your property.

Pre-tenant deposit money: Real Estate investors use this for a down payment method on owner financed & for sale by owner property, to come up with the down payment before the actual closing of the property. Very risky investment and would not attempt this at all! Other Common methods are to offer more interest or a higher offer.

Inspection money: example; Find a home that you want to buy with an asking price of $100.000, and after the appraisal and inspection you found multiple problems that would cost $20.000 to fix. That would make your offer on that home $80.000. Now instead of offering $80.000 for the home or asking that these problems be fixed before paying the original asking price of $100.000. On the Real Estate Sales Contract, offer to pay the full asking price of $100.000, in the addendum part, stipulate that the seller will pay the buyer $20.000 at closing for cost of repairs to the home.

No one will ever answer with certainty all of the questions on the California Real Estate Broker’s Exam. That means that everyone, sooner or later, will have to guess at a few answers. So here are some strategies to help you come up with the best guess.

First, if there are two choices that mean essentially the same thing, and the correct answer does not appear to be “all of the above,” eliminate those two choices. You can’t choose between them because they refer to the same thing. For example, if answer choice “A” offers “purchase contract,” and answer choice “C” offers “deposit receipt,” you can eliminate “A” and “C.” The answer can’t be either one of them.

In many situations, when you look at a question where you do not know the correct answer, just because of your general knowledge, you should be able to eliminate two of the choices. Two of the choices will not seem plausible or won’t make sense. That leaves your guess between two, which raises the odds of getting it right. Before choosing, you should read the premise of the question one more time. That reading might tip the scale in the direction of one or another.

Some other tips worth paying attention to are these. “B” and “C” are probably the most commonly used correct answer choices. “All of the above” is not usually correct on the Broker’s Exam. It is on the salesperson’s exam, but they want you to notice the nuances and see the distinctions on the Broker’s Exam. “None of the above” is not usually the correct answer choice. It is used as a default answer. Think about it like this. You are writing test questions, and you come up with a concept and you have the right answer in mind. You come up with two incorrect answer choices that are plausible (they must be plausible, right?), and you’re trying to think of a third, but it’s tough. You just can’t think of one. Ah, “None of the Above” will do. You are now finished and can move onto the next question.

“Not enough information given,” is tempting-it appeals to our egos-but I have never seen it to be correct. And if you see an answer choice that offers two of the other answer choices as the answer, like “D: A and B,” that may have a good shot at being correct, just because it’s a really elaborate ruse, and chances are the test writer didn’t go that far to trick you.

Now all of these tips are based on observations over many years. They are not airtight, but they are a valid trend. Always answer what you know for sure-then apply this information. And happy testing!

For real estate rehab private hard money lenders are often the best choice, particularly if you want to spend as little of your own capital as possible. Here’s why.

Once you and a seller agree on a purchase price (regardless of the amount) a commercial bank will finance 80% of it. That is, if they will approve the loan in the first bank. Most public financial institutions do not look kindly on rehab projects, for a number of reasons. On the other hand, hard money real estate investor rehab loans are the specialty of some private financiers.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s say that you are able to get a bank to approve your loan. You pay 20% of the purchase price out of your own pocket. Even if the purchase price is as low as $50,000, you will pay $10,000 cash at the closing table. Then, there are the closing costs to consider. Typically, they run around $2000. So, you leave the bank with $12,000 less than you walked in with.

If they specialize in real estate rehab private hard money lenders know that you need to keep as much of your own capital as possible. That way, you have the freedom to look for more deals. In order to make the most out of rehabbing, you need to be able to act quickly when you see a fixer upper with a motivated seller. If all of your capital is tied up because of down payments and closing costs, you might miss out on a number of opportunities.

So, private groups that offer hard money real estate investor rehab loans will finance up to 65% of the “after repair value”. In other words, if that house you bought for $50,000 will sell for $100,000 once you finish painting and replacing the carpet, a rehab lender would finance 100% of the purchase price. They do not require a down payment. You could even up the purchase price to $52,000, get the seller to pay the closing costs and end up spending with zero out of pocket expenses.

Of course, you will have to spend money making the repairs. You should have the capital required to complete the project, but some private groups offer funding plans for repairs, as well. The best ones offer deferred payment plans, proof of funds letters, pre-approvals and they can close a deal in as little as two weeks. Contrary to what some people think, they are not loan sharks. The fees that they charge are reasonable and, by law, they cannot use unreasonable methods to collect.

Whether you are just starting out or have years of experience in real estate rehab hard money lenders can help you increase your profits and improve your cash flow. They could be the best choice for you next project.

If you’re brand new to real estate investing, here are a few things that you can do that will help put you on your way to financial success.

First, it’s worthwhile to make yourself a real estate investor business plan. Just like any other business, you need a business plan.

Next, do your homework as to mortgage rates and the various terms that are available through lending institutions. Again, your real estate agent can be quite helpful, since part of their job description is to keep up on that sort of thing. A difference of even a couple percentage points on a mortgage or contract can add up to significant profits for you down the line.

Do your best to get yourself prequalified for financing before you begin your search. This can be very helpful if it’s important to move quickly on a particular piece of property that may get snapped up by someone else if you don’t act fast. It can also provide you with a psychological bargaining chip, to let the seller know that you’re serious about buying the property.

It may seem to go without saying, but you need to have a clear idea of what type of property you want. If you’re not comfortable being a landlord, for instance, you certainly don’t want to start snapping up every rental house that comes your way. You might do better to buy fixer houses, do the repairs, and flip them.

With your goals clear in your mind, go look at properties–lots of them, so you’ll become a knowledgeable consumer. It’s like shopping for any other commodity. You have to know a great buy when you see one, and then be ready to act. Keep lots of notes while you’re looking at properties, because you’ll tend to get confused after you’ve seen a considerable number of possibilities. Work out a rating system, stay focused, take notes, and be ready to snap up a property that offers great income potential.

Make offers based on inspections. This is important, and gives you an easy out if something about the property isn’t what you thought it was at first. You want to know every problem, so you can calculate how addressing that problem will affect your bottom line.

If you start out with a professional attitude, using a real estate investor business plan, you’ll be well on your way to achieving success as a real estate investor.

Copyright ? 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher