You need to have cash or be qualified from a lender to purchase real estate. It's as simple as that. How about this? Make sure you have your financing ducks in a row before you even start looking at real estate. Why would you do it any other way? If you look, you will find.

I have trusted relationships with experienced, honest mortgage consultants who will educate you, find the best financing product for your situation, stay in communication with you, and work with us as a team in pursuing your real estate investing goals. It's so important that you work with a lender that you trust will be there through the entire transaction and will not leave you sitting at the closing table without your funds.

Lenders have tightened their guidelines. No documentation loans are gone, 100% stated loans are gone, 100% investor loans are gone, sub-prime loans are gone. Loose guidelines from the past 5-10 years are gone and the pendulum is swinging an equal distance back. High LTV 2nd mortgages, jumbo 30 year mortgages and high LTV/low documentation loans are harder than ever to qualify for or find a lender who will allow it. Now more than ever, you need to have a good relationship with a lender and Realtor who can help you navigate through the constantly changing guidelines.

It really is the best time to buy if you go about it the right way. There are amazing opportunities available and interest rates are so much lower than the last time we experienced a true buyer's/investor's market. Conventional financing or FHA government loans are currently the best methods of financing. FHA loans are not just for first-time home buyers, but know that you are going to have to put money down to purchase real estate right now. There are methods available that help people get loans and/or receive gift down payment assistance. My trusted lending partners know about these opportunities, not everyone else does or they might not be doing it above board.

Many Realtors (including me) will not spend their time taking you to look at real estate unless they know that you can afford what you are looking for. And that's not because we don't want to work with you, it's because our time is valuable, you are not our only client (if you were, we could not afford to stay in business), and we need to run our business like a business. I don't have time to serve the general public, I make time to serve my clients who are committed to working with me, will trust my knowledge, and will allow my experience to guide us in the transaction. Anyone can become a Realtor, not everyone can be as good at it as I am.