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Investing In Real Estate

By
Real Estate Agent with Nesbitt Realty at Condo Alexandria 0225-089134

When you are first starting out with investing in houses, you should always look for ugly or bad houses that need a lot of work. These homes are much cheaper to purchase, although they will take some work to improve. You should start out by looking for houses that need some work, such as clean up, painting, and in some cases new carpet. You don’t want to buy something too run down, as it could cost a fortune to repair.

If you think of yourself as a handyman and feel that you can do the repairs yourself, you can save a lot of money. On the other hand, if you need to hire someone, you should always make sure that the individual or company that you hire is qualified to do the repairs. If you aren’t comfortable with doing any of the repairs, you should inquire about a subcontractor or company that will do it for a reasonable price, or perhaps a share of the money once you have resold the house.

If the house you are thinking to purchase and resell has any type of structural problems, you should always get an estimate from a reliable contractor before you make the purchase. If you decide to stay in the business, you’ll learn a lot more over the years, although you should always hire a contractor when you first start out. Once you get all of the estimates together, you can make that final decision on how much of an offer you want to put down on the property.

After you have a team together and successfully renovated and resold several homes, you’ll begin to feel quite a bit more confident with buying homes that need repairs. All it takes is time and practice – and you’ll be buying homes that the average investor wouldn’t think twice about. This can be a huge advantage when you are looking for homes to buy and resell, as there will be less competition to worry about. You’ll also be able to get a lower price when buying the home, simply because you can use the cost of the repairs to your advantage.

Once you are able to do repairs on homes, including structural problems, you’ll have a huge advantage in the market. You’ll be able to buy virtually any home, including those that other investors choose to ignore. Doing so can be very profitable for you, especially if the house is in a well known and well desired neighborhood. After you have done the repairs, you can resell the home for a much higher price than you paid to acquire the home.

When you start looking for houses that you can repair and resale, you should always take your time and buy the right homes. You won’t have the money, time, experience, or support to buy the bigger houses at first, which means you won’t have any room for mistakes. Once you have purchased and resold a few smaller homes, you’ll eventually be able to work your way up to the bigger homes – which is where the big profits will come into play.

Always keep in mind that when you first start out, you’ll need to take things slow. You can expect profits to come overnight, as it will take you some time to learn. Once you have been at it a few years and have several houses to your credit, you’ll be ready to tackle anything. At that point – you’ll make a lot of money in a career that is truly exciting.

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Comments(5)

Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

This is good advice to share with prospective real estate investors.

Feb 10, 2017 12:02 PM
Nathan Gesner
American West Realty and Management - Cody, WY
Broker / Property Manager

Will Nesbitt this is good advice. There are far too many "investors" that jump into it without educating themselves beyond watching a few "reality" shows and then get in over their head. 

Feb 10, 2017 06:54 PM
Gabe Sanders
Real Estate of Florida specializing in Martin County Residential Homes, Condos and Land Sales - Stuart, FL
Stuart Florida Real Estate

Good morning Will.  Anyone considering investing in real estate in the Alexandria area should give you a call.

Feb 11, 2017 06:54 AM
Lawrence "Larry" & Sheila Agranoff. Cell: 631-805-4400
The Top Team @ Charles Rutenberg Realty 255 Executive Dr, Plainview NY 11803 - Plainview, NY
Long Island Condo and Home Specialists

Everyone thinks buying as an investment is easy. It's smart business, but can be stressful too and not all are winners.

Feb 11, 2017 08:46 AM
Yolanda Cordova-Gilbert
Richmond, TX

Will,

 Your blogs have really been wonderful  and great advice for people wanting to invest in real estate!

Feb 11, 2017 10:23 AM