Written by Tom Dunn

This is another in a continuing series of articles on beginning real estate investing. Today, we’ll tackle the basics of “subject to…” investing. There are a lot of questions those who are just beginning real estate investing often have about “subject to…” investing, and this article should answer many of your fundamental questions.

First of all, it’s important for those who are beginning real estate investing to know what “Subject To…” investing is. “Subject to…” means that you buy a property “subject to…” the existing financing staying in place in the seller’s name.

Say that you get a call from a motivated seller. He tells you he must sell his house immediately. He also says he owes around $100,000 on his mortgage, his payments are around $900 per month, including principal, interest, and taxes. Even though you are only just beginning real estate investing, you know the estimated market value of his home is about $130,000.

You head on over to his home. It doesn’t matter in the least that you are just beginning real estate investing. After all, he needs to sell now. You tell him that you will take over his mortgage payments, and keep on making them until you get the house sold. You don’t know how long it will take, but the mortgage will stay in his name until you get it sold.

He asks if you can give him some cash to help him move. Even someone who is beginning real estate investing can negotiate an item like this. After going back and forth a couple of times, the two of you agree on $3,000, which you will pay to him the day he moves out.

Now, what have you got? A house with an estimated value of $130,000 that you will wind up paying about $103,000 for, and a payment of $900 per month. Since you are just beginning real estate investing, there is something you must do right away… market for a tenant buyer.

So, you place an ad in your local paper, and put up a few signs in Mr. Seller’s neighborhood: “Lease to Own - Bruised Credit OK.” Your phone starts ringing and you find a young couple with good jobs and good income who went through a brief period of financial trouble a year or two ago. You explain to them that even though you are just beginning real estate investing, you think you can help them.

You offer to lease them the home with a 12 month option to buy it. Their monthly lease payment to you will be $1,200, and their purchase price will be $135,000. They will also give you a non-refundable option fee of $5,000. It doesn’t matter that you are only beginning real estate investing- you can certainly see what you have just accomplished.

You’ve got monthly positive cash flow of $300 - the difference between the $900 you are paying and the $1,200 the young couple is paying you. You have also put $2,000 cash into your pocket right now - the difference between the $3,000 cash you gave the seller and the $5,000 cash the young couple gave you. When the young couple exercises their option to buy, you will also pocket $32,000 - the difference between your purchase price of $103,000 and the price they pay you, $135,000. Not too bad for someone beginning real estate investing!

We’ve barely scratched the surface of “subject to…” investing, but I think you’ve got the idea. I’ve got more great ideas for you at Beginning Real Estate Investing.

Now, go make more offers!

Crush The Biggest Obstacle to Your Success in Real Estate… or Anything Else! Download my FREE report HERE!

Tom Dunn is a successful real estate investor and author of the popular DealFiles Real Estate Investor Stories free newsletter. © 2007 by Tom Dunn. Website: www.dealfiles.com e-mail: tom@dealfiles.com

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Written by Tom Dunn

Another in a series of articles on beginning real estate investing. A crucial step to becoming a wise real estate investor is getting to know your local market, and learning to put a value on the properties within your target neighborhoods.

Beginning real estate investing involves learning a new set of skills, one of the most important of which is valuing property. For the limited scope of this article, we’ll limit our discussion to residential single-family and duplex homes.

When you are just beginning real estate investing, it’s helpful to set a goal for yourself to become the market value expert in one or two select neighborhoods. When choosing these neighborhoods, look for locations close to your home with a good selection of homes in the lower-middle to middle price range for your market. This is where you’ll find the best combination of working-class homeowners and what I call “aspirational” renters- those renters who aspire to homeownership. These will become your best customers.

Once you’ve found one or two of these neighborhoods, start driving through at least twice a week, looking for all real estate activity, including listed sales, For Sale By Owner, auctions, estate sales, vacant property, even moving van activity. As someone who is beginning real estate investing you should get tuned in to the pulse of the neighborhood.

Look for and get to know the local Realtors. Stop in to the Realty offices and introduce yourself. Find out who the most active listing agents are, who sells the most houses, who deals with the most foreclosures, and who works with the investors. These are the best Realtors to work with as you are beginning real estate investing.

Also, beginning real estate investing means getting to know local service people, especially contractors. Talk to as many of these as you can, and find the ones that do a lot of work in your target neighborhood, especially plumbers. Ask them what kinds of recurring problems they see. They will provide you a wealth of information.

Give yourself a timetable to learn property values in your target neighborhood. Three to six months is probably realistic. When you are just beginning real estate investing you will need to work closely with a Realtor. Ask for all the listings in your target neighborhood, and try to see them all. Ask also for the listings of comparable sales (Comps) so you can see what similar properties have sold for recently.

Build a spreadsheet, database, or even just a handwritten notebook so you can refer back to it from time to time. This will become a valuable resource for you as you progress beyond beginning real estate investing. Slowly but surely you will become an expert on property values in your target neighborhoods. You will be able to look at most any property and know, within a few hundred dollars, exactly what it’s market value is. This knowledge will serve you very well as you progress in your real estate investing activities.

For more in-depth information, visit my website and read more about beginning real estate investing.

Now, go make more offers!

Tom Dunn is a successful real estate investor and author of the popular DealFiles Real Estate Investor Stories free newsletter. You are welcome to share this report, unedited and in it’s entirety, with anyone you like. You may not remove this text.© 2007 by Tom Dunn. Website: DealFiles.com e-mail: tom@dealfiles.com

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Written by Tom Dunn

Never before have so many people, from all backgrounds and circumstances, investigated beginning real estate investing. If you have ever thought about buying and selling property for profit, or even if you’re just curious, this article is for you.

There are several different paths to beginning real estate investing, but I’m going to suggest one simple, easy to follow, step-by step plan that has worked for many investors, and made lots of people wealthy.

When thinking about beginning real estate investing, you need to have a goal. Think about what you want to accomplish, and what you want to get out of your investing activities. Creating a detailed goal plan is half the fun of beginning real estate investing.

Next, look for your local Real Estate Investor’s Association (REIA) and start attending their meetings. You should find lots of other folks who are beginning real estate investing, but you should also find many experienced investors. Go out of your way to get to know them all

In the investors group, look for someone you think would make a good mentor. You’re looking for someone with experience doing the kind of investing you want to do. Make sure it’s not someone who is just beginning real estate investing, but a person with some real experience.

Ask that person to mentor you, and offer to help them in return. Tell them you’ll be happy to bring them deals if they’ll teach you what to look for. Explain that you may be just beginning real estate investing, but someday soon you’ll be in a position to help them if they’re patient with you.

At the same time, you should be getting to know others who can help you with beginning real estate investing. People like Realtors, bankers, contractors, and others all can become valuable team members as your investing activities expand. These valuable relationships are just like money in the bank- wait and see!

Last, but certainly not least. Read and study everything you can get your hands on, especially free and low cost information available on the internet. Find a couple of sites that you really like, and spend a lot of time there. Read the authors who have done what you want to do. Of course it helps if you like their writing style.

Follow the steps I’ve outlined above, and soon you’ll be among the ranks of those who call themselves Real Estate Investors. You can find a more detailed guide on Beginning Real Estate Investing at my website.

Now, go make more offers!

Tom Dunn is a successful real estate investor and author of the popular DealFiles Real Estate Investor Stories free newsletter. You are welcome to share this report, unedited and in it’s entirety, with anyone you like. You may not remove this text.© 2007 by Tom Dunn. Website: DealFiles.com e-mail: tom@dealfiles.com

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Written by Luke Garfield

Real estate investing is one of the most attractive ways of making money (that is if you do it correctly). Moreover, real estate investing is also a lot of fun. A lot of people practice real estate investing as their core profession and, in fact, make a lot of money doing it.

Real estate investing is really an art and, like any art, it takes time to master the art of real estate investing. The key, of course, is to buy at a lower price and sell at higher price and make a profit even after paying all the costs involved in the two (buy/sell) transactions. Generally, people are of the opinion that real estate investing makes sense only when the rates are on the rise. However, real estate investing for profits is possible just about any time (and as I just said, real estate investing is an art). Here is a list of techniques that can make real estate investing profitable for you:

1) Look for public auctions, divorce settlements and foreclosures (bank/FHA/VA): Since quick settlement is the preference here (and not price), you might get a property at a price that is much lower than the prevailing market rate. You can then make arrangements to sell it at the market rate over a short period of time. However, make sure that the property is worth the price you are paying.

2) Looking for old listings: The old listings that are still unsold may provide you with good real estate investing opportunities. Just get hold of an old newspaper and call up the sellers. They might have given up hope of selling that property at all and with a bit of negotiation you can get the property for a real low price.

3) The hidden treasure: A really old (and dirty) looking house may scare off buyers. But this might be your chance for real estate investing that can yield good profits. So, explore such properties and calculate if spending a bit on them can make them shine. You can sometimes get these at very low prices and make a big profit in a short time.

4) Team up with attorneys: There are a number of attorneys who handle property sales on behalf of sellers or in special circumstances (like the death of the property owner). They might be looking to liquidate the property quickly and hence at a low price. Be the first one to grab such real estate investing opportunities and enjoy the profits.

5) Keep tab on the newspaper announcements: Property sell offs due to deaths, divorce settlements, immediate cash requirements and other reasons are frequently announced in local papers. Keep track of such real estate investing avenues.

Luke Garfield
Respected computer scientist and author.
Visit http://mortgageforeclosure.netfirms.com for more articles like this one.

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Written by Joe Lane

Investing in real estate is highly profitable because of the large amount of money involved which also makes it high risk. Real estate investing is a business that anyone can learn and there are many proven strategies that are considered effective in getting a high return on your investment.

If you are interested in making money investing in real estate then you should begin by becoming highly informed about anything that has to do with investing in real estate. You can gather this information for the internet or local newspapers.

When you think you have found an investment property be sure to also find out as much information as possible prior to making an offer. Get a decent idea of what the property is worth when you purchase it. Also make a budget of the repair affiliate costs and stick to it.

Before purchasing a house for investment purposes you need to know what small inexpensive things you can fix up to give you the largest return in terms of property value. Locate a home that is cosmetically challenged but in a decent area with repairs that you can do mostly on your own.

Sometimes when you are looking for homes to invest in you find more than one property that looks promising leaving you to make a difficult choice. This makes it crucial for an investor to know how to accurately compare different offers. Anyone who wants to succeed in real estate investing needs to have some negotiating skills.

When you are investing in real estate it is important to keep a strict budget in tact at all times. You need to have a clear picture of what you are going to spend on a specific property. Know what all the involved repairs are before making any offers.

All real estate investments carry a degree of risk because the real estate market is constantly fluctuating. You can help yourself out and hire the professional help of a reputable local real estate agent. This experienced agent can provide you with insider information on the local market and special offers on properties. Someone whose job is all about the market will be able to teach you things that you would have never thought about.

Those who would like to invest in real estate need to be prepared and capable of handling changes that will occur in the local real estate market. The changes that happen in the real estate market are caused by increased interest rates, tax rates, supply and demand, a rise or fall in property values, and the local unemployment rates.

When it comes to investments as high risk and expensive as real estate investments then you need to have a back up plan ready before they can even happen. To succeed in real estate you should be planning the sale of the home before you purchase it. Real estate investing doesn’t involve any guesswork but is really based on set calculations of the costs of investment and how much you will come out of the deal with.

Published by Joe and Colleen Lane, Realtors®. The Lane Real Estate Team services Tri City Wa Real Estate, Kennewick Wa Real Estate, Pasco Wa Real Estate, Richland Wa Real Estate, and surrounding Southeastern Washington Communities. Find out the latest Washington Real Estate News.

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Written by James Klobasa

Real estate investing is abounding in opportunities as anyone with the right knowledge and appropriate hard work can amass a fortune. Interested Real Estate Investing can be highly profitable if the right techniques and skills were developed by learning from experiences as well as by reading good e-books and books about investing in real estate. Developing the right contacts and being market savvy are crucial for successful real estate investing. Creative real estate investing strategies can earn fabulous return on investments.

Real estate investing is one business that enables people with minimum or even no start up capital to establish a successful business. This is one business that may be started from your home without too many overhead expenses. Interested Real Estate Investing requires real commitment and dedication. In order to be a truly successful investor hard work and determination is necessary as well as more than a working knowledge of the investing in real estate.

Real Estate Investing Techniques

Interested real estate investing requires a good understanding of the local market conditions. The investor has to spend time understanding the factors that influence the local markets. The must be able to identify signs of bust or boom and take necessary actions. There are several investors who tried to take advantage of a boom period and held on to a property waiting for a better profit margin only to end up shattered due to a market crash that reduced house values as there were not many buyers and the mounting mortgage payments forced them to face foreclosure.

To get a better idea of the local market you may develop contacts with realtors and enquire the property rates in areas of your choice as well as read books and e-books written about investing in real estate. It will help Interested Real Estate Investing if you are familiar with creative real estate investing techniques such as flipping, optioning, rehabbing etc. investing in tax liens are also very safe, more so than perhaps bonds and securities. Tax liens are sold in 18 states. Tax liens are sold in auctions and awarded to the highest bidder. Tax liens are generally less than 10%25 of the value of a property. Tax liens can earn interest rates between 16%25 and 24%25 and they are considered to be low risk and low maintenance investments. Tax liens are also mostly protected from any changes to the Federal Reserve interest rates. It is a safe investment as you get a guaranteed return on investment or if the property owner defaults payment, you may get deeded rights to a property, as it is a first priority claim. Tax liens are extremely affordable investments as they may be purchased for very less ranging between $200 and $30,000. The investor is not subject to landowner liabilities. If the investor of tax lien does not receive payments during the redemption period, he may initiate foreclosure proceeding on the property. The cost of the foreclosure proceedings is added to the redemption price.

Rental income properties are also a good investment for Interested Real Estate Investing. Many people invest in multi-tenant commercial units as they are highly profitable as the equity of the property steadily increases each year. If the owner is not too keen on managing the property he may hire the service of a management firm or opt for a triple net lease property.

The opportunities for Interested Real Estate Investing are boundless, so the more knowledgeable you are the better you are equipped to run a real estate investing business. Learn to identify opportunities and utilize them optimally.

James Klobasa, once broke with no job and $20,000 in debt made a choice that changed his life forever. That choice was investing in Real Estate. With the founder of, The Little Building Co. you too, can learn at Real-Real Estate Investing

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Written by Blair Gwilt

The key to making a profit in real estate investing is through purchasing properties for as low as possible then reselling them for a higher price. Such is the case with distressed properties real estate investing. This is one of the most popular techniques used by real estate investors. Once you know how the steps to take with distressed properties real estate investing you, too, can employ the technique to make higher profits.

The first step in distressed properties real estate investing is locating distressed properties. These properties are those that have a lower value because of their condition, appearance, or the owner’s financial situation. One or more of these elements should be present for the property to be considered distress.

In distressed properties real estate investing you can’t just choose any house that is in poor condition. There are some distressed properties that can end up costing you more to repair than you will make in profit from the homes. The best distressed properties for real estate investing are those that can be repaired with as little cost as possible. These properties just need holes in the wall fixed or a paint touch up to increase the value of the home.

Keep in mind that not all distressed properties require repair. Remember that distressed properties can be qualified as such because of the owner’s financial situation. Divorce, death in the family, job loss, and job transfer are just of the few causes of distressed properties. These kinds of properties are the best kind of all to purchase because they can be purchased for a lower price and do not require any repair.

Distressed properties real estate investing requires some work to find the properties. In some cases, you may be able to drive around the neighborhoods in which you invest and look for properties that seem distressed. When you find these kinds of properties take note of the address, then use court records to find the owner of the property. If the home is not abandoned, you can knock on the door and inquire if it is for sale from the owner.

With distressed properties real estate investing you must act quickly. There may be other offers on the table. Even if there are currently no offers, you can expect for offers to begin coming. Chances are you aren’t the only investor interested in distressed properties real estate investing. Other investors are using the same techniques to locate distressed properties and may swoop in with better deals. Act as quickly as possible in distressed properties real estate investing to avoid losing deals.

One of the most lucrative kind of investing is distressed properties real estate investing. Mot of the work in distressed properties real estate investing is associated with locating the properties. If you know that you will be looking for properties, it is a good practice to get pre-qualified for financing first. Since time is critical in distressed properties real estate investing, you need to save as much time in the process as possible to make sure that you don’t lose the deal to someone who already has financing.

For more information about investing in Real Estate visit 
Starting Real Estate
Investing.

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Written by Tom Dunn

Short sale real estate investing is defined as purchasing a property from a lender for less than the balance owed on the mortgage. Many books and courses have been written about it, but can short sale real estate investing be simplified? It can!

There really are only two types of short sale real estate investing. First, when you purchase a property that a lender has foreclosed on and listed with a Realtor, you can offer less than the balance that was due on the foreclosure. This type of short sale real estate investing requires that you have a good relationship with the right Realtor.

Look for the Realty office in your town that handles the majority of foreclosures, and look for the agent in that office who works with investors and short sale real estate investing. When you find that agent, you’ll want to impress upon them that you intend to follow through on all your offers. Then, do exactly what you say you will. That’s your ticket to the short sale real estate investing gravy train!

The second type of short sale real estate investing involves you negotiating directly with a motivated seller’s lender. You’ll need to be determined in your negotiating, first of all to reach the right person at the lender’s REO (Real Estate Owned) department, and then to get the price you want.

Stick with it, and take lots of notes. Once you’ve worked with a few lenders that allow short sale real estate investing, you’ll have the tactics you need to enjoy on-going success.

Would you like more information? How about a more in-depth article? You can get both at Short Sale Real Estate Investing.

Now, go make more offers!

Crush The Biggest Obstacle to Your Success in Real Estate… or Anything Else! Download my FREE report HERE!

Tom Dunn is a successful real estate investor and author of the popular DealFiles Real Estate Investor Stories free newsletter. © 2007 by Tom Dunn. Website: www.dealfiles.com e-mail: tom@dealfiles.com

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Written by Tom Dunn

OK, you’ve decided to do it… you’re going to get off the fence and start moving forward with your plan to start investing in real estate. What are the very first things you need to think about, and the very first actions you need to take. Read on for answers!

You’ll be very surprised by what I think is the first thing you should do once you’ve decided to start investing in real estate. My suggestion is… don’t.

Don’t just jump in and start buying property. Even though you think you know what you want to do, you’re far better off taking a little time to think about how real estate investing will fit into your life, and what types of real estate investing will work best for you. The way to start investing in real estate is to first develop a strategy.

Start investing in real estate by planning your investing style. What I mean is, decide what kinds of properties - and what kinds of deals - you are bet suited for. After all, there are as many different ways to start investing in real estate as there are colors of the rainbow.

You could buy, rehab, and resell fixer-uppers from private owners. You could buy and hold rentals, either single-family homes or multi-units. You could buy pretty houses and lease option them to bruised credit-buyers. You could buy and rent commercial property, such as strip plazas and office buildings. You could invest in unique residential property, like mobile home parks or condominiums.

See what I mean. Spending a little time now to think through exactly how you want to start investing in real estate will bear fruit later. Don’t pigeonhole yourself. Somewhere out there is an investing style that suits your skills and temperament, and it’s your job to find it.

When you take the time now to investigate different ways to start investing in real estate, you’re making an investment that will pay you big dividends. You just might prevent yourself from getting stuck in a deal you have no skills for.

I’ve written a more detailed article called Beginning Real Estate Investing. Check it out for some great ideas on matching your abilities to your investing style.

Now, go make more offers!

Crush The Biggest Obstacle to Your Success in Real Estate… or Anything Else! Download my FREE report HERE!

Tom Dunn is a successful real estate investor and author of the popular DealFiles Real Estate Investor Stories free newsletter. © 2007 by Tom Dunn. Website: www.dealfiles.com e-mail: tom@dealfiles.com

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Written by Tom Dunn

Real estate investors, especially beginners, often ask, “How can I find private money for real estate investing?” This article explores the topic, and outlines a simple three-step approach for obtaining private money for real estate investing.

Finding private money for real estate investing is more about who you know than what you know. To be successful, leverage your existing relationships, and build new relationships with people who are in a position to help you reach your goals.

First, develop a clear, simple, two-to-three page business plan outlining your real estate strategy and tactics, how much profit you think you can make, how much you want to borrow, and how you plan to repay it to those who loan you private money for real estate investing.

Second, make a list of who you know and write a personal letter to them. Using your business plan as a guide, explain the type of investing you do, and emphasize that you’re looking for private money for real estate investing. Focus on the benefits for them… explain why they should loan you private money for real estate investing. Make sure you include how their money will be secured by the real estate, and how you plan to repay them.

Third, reach out beyond your circle of friends and acquaintances by holding a series of free seminars. This is the single best way to get private money for real estate investing. Don’t let this idea scare you, even if you don’t like the thought of speaking before a group. Once you develop your presentation, you can give it to as many or as few people at a time as you like- even if it’s just one-on-one!

There are plenty of tricks and tips available for using seminars to find private money for real estate investing. If you follow these steps, you’ll be far ahead of the other investors in your town!

Now, go make more offers!

I have written several in-depth articles and reports, including Private Money For Real Estate Investing.

Tom Dunn is a successful real estate investor and author of the popular DealFiles Real Estate Investor Stories free newsletter. You are welcome to share this report, unedited and in it’s entirety, with anyone you like. You may not remove this text.© 2007 by Tom Dunn. www.DealFiles.com

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