This is the first of a series of articles I will be contributing to my blog to help educate the consumers and clients who contact me for my services. I will cover the basic steps to get started and help new investors with basic concepts on thier first deals to be successful.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT TEAM TO WORK WITH IS THE FIRST VITAL STEP:

In my into to investing in real estate I went over how important it is to work with a professional such as myself. Make sure you choose a professional who understands your goals and how to get you there. Goals are important, as well as your risk tolerance, expectations, and experience. Real estate investing is not for everybody. You will not become a millionaire overnight, it will take some time.

Since this is Real Estate Investing 101, I will cover the most basic investing which is usually single family homes. If I continue to get positive response to these articles I hope to continue the series into advanced investing articles covering commercial real estate.

KEY #1: INSTANT EQUITY CAPTURE AND ANALYSIS

One of the first keys we look for in real estate investing is instant equity capture. In the current market and economy we know home prices are slightly lower. If you focus and wait patiently its possible to find a foreclosure for $20,000 to $40,000 under thier appraised value in our local market. Other markets can yield $50,000 to $120,000 under appraised values. That could be instant equity captured if the home is purchased below market value. If that is the case, you better be ready to jump because chances are other investors may have already zero'ed in on the same deal.

The key is understanding appraised value vs market value. Appraised value is the estimated value by the local taxing authority to determine the amount to tax the property. Market value is what the property can sell for in the current market. Market values are affected by many factors such as other foreclosures nearby. Researching an investment property requires researching the neighborhood and competing properties on the market.

Using experience and data provided a qualified Realtor can determine all this information with you. Investment Realtors also use special tools and sofware to further analyze the property and its potential. The analysis requires more steps than I will explain here. I want to keep it simple, and if I teach everyone my secrets and tools, I wouldnt be very useful.

Purchasing a property below market value is like traveling back in time and purchasing a real estate investment before it goes up in value. The fundamentals of our economy causes real estate to increase in value. Real estate prices will not stay down forever. The historic charts prove this. I have clients who can prove this because they became millionaires as a result of real estate investing.  

THIS IS THE TIME OF OPPORTUNITY

What other investment opportunity in the world will allow you to go back in time and purchase something for a lower price that you know will go up? Do you ever daydream and wish you could take a few thousand dollars back in time to buy: Microsoft, IBM, Dell, Walmart, Coca Cola, Intel, and all the story stocks before they skyrocketed?

This is your opportunity to purchase homes for 1990s prices before the market rebounds. What just happened? The real estate market just traveled back in time and gave us the dream opportunity.

Does that put this opportunity into perspective for you?