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Real Estate Investing for Beginners – Part 2, Types of Properties for New Real Estate Investors

Not all real estate property types may be appropriate for new real estate investors. There are many factors to consider when making the decision to add real estate to an investment portfolio.

When deciding on a residential real estate investment strategy, some options for new investors to consider include:

Rental units

Rental units can be considered both long term and short term investments. Types of properties that may be considered for this category would include:

* Detached single family homes

* Attached single family homes

* Multi-Unit properties

* Condos/Townhomes

Being a Landlord

Not everyone has either the desire or inclination to be a landlord. Dealing with tenant and property issues can be very stressful and time consuming. One way to minimize the impact of being a landlord is to hire a professional property management company.

Hiring a professional property management company has several advantages:

* Allows owners of rental properties to be ‘shielded’ from dealing with tenant and property issues directly.

* Provides a buffer allowing the owners to maintain a hands off approach to managing their properties.

* May provide a less stressful experience

* Offers the ability to purchase real estate investments not immediately local to the investor.

* Provides a single contact point for all issues regarding the investment property.

Professional property managers are well versed and prepared to manage tenant and property issues as they arise. They will typically take care of all issues relating to the property.

Many offer their services at reasonable prices and rates while others can be quite expensive depending on additional services being offered. You may expect property managers to provide the following services:

* Advertise properties available

* Receive applications for tenancy

* Perform Credit and Background checks for applicants

* Recommend rental pricing

* Pay maintenance and/or repair bills for the owner

* Send monthly statements and rental income (Less any outstanding bills.

Typically these are deducted and itemized from the rental income and will appear on monthly statements)

Flipping or The Bane of New Investors

Often times, new investors in real estate are overly anxious to ‘flip’ properties and make a significant profit. Rumors of how friends or acquaintances have made allot of money is often the incentive for ‘flipping’.

The real estate market fluctuates greatly. Yesterdays great ‘flipping’ market may be (recent market trends as an example) tomorrows ‘Hold on to it’ market. While this is certainly a desirable quality of an investment property, it is and should not be the primary consideration for new real estate investors. The competition for this type of real estate investment is fierce and occupied by seasoned, experienced professional builders and investors

Property Types

Let’s discuss the various property type which may be considered by new real estate investors.

The selectionof the type of real estate property for investment purposes may be based on several factors.

These factors include:

* Financial considerations – How much can you afford?

* Availability of properties – What types of properties are available?

* Location – You’ve heard this one a thousand times – Location…Location…Location…

* Income potential – Does the property in question match your real estate investment strategy?

Detached and attached single family homes Single family homes whether attached or detached are often the first real estate property type new investors seek. In many areas, they offer the most availability of any property type.

Prices obviously vary greatly with these property types as well.

Multifamily Properties

Apartment units such as duplexes and triplexes should be considered as a viable option for new real estate investors.

Many investors and real estate professionals use apartment buildings as a point of entry to a portfolio of commercial real estate holdings and to build their equity before moving on to larger commercial real estate investments.

Duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes are two, three and four-unit buildings that may or may not be owner occupied.

Summary

Selecting an appropriate type of real estate property in which to invest is a primary consideration for all serious real estate investors.

Real estate investment strategies include the decision of whether or not to become actively involved in the management of the property. Professional property managers offer alternatives to assist in a “hands off” approach to owning residential income property.

Knowing there are options on the various types of properties to purchase as investment may provide new real estate investors the information needed to make that final decision to become a real estate investor.

End of Part 2

© Copyright 2008 Jennifer MacKay. All Rights Reserved.

Georgia Real Estate: Starting Georgia Real Estate Hunt With a Real Estate Agent

Georgia is a wonderful place to live in. No wonder you have decided on picking up Georgia real estate for living-in or investing. Your Georgia real estate hunt can quite easily start with looking for the real estate prices (i.e. average prices) so as to gauge what kind of house and location will fit your budget. This is assuming that you have already estimated how much you can afford to spend on that Georgia real estate piece that you are so much after.

With little effort you can easily find out the Georgia real estate prices. You can do this in a lot of different ways. One way is to directly give a call to a Georgia real estate agent and ask him about what kind of house you can get within your budget (if you are looking for Georgia real estate for investment purposes). In fact, a lot of people find it easier to just make a call to the real estate agent and get a grasp of the going prices for properties in any place let alone Georgia.

Now, as mentioned above, if you are looking for Georgia real estate piece as an investment option, then you would start with checking out what you can get for your budget. However, if you are looking for Georgia real estate because you actually want to live in Georgia (and enjoy your life), then you would be better off starting with your most basic requirements from a house e.g. you could specify a 1 bedroom house or a condo or whatever, if that is the minimum space you would need to be able to live in comfortably with your partner or your family etc.

If you cannot get that basic house in the location of your choice in Georgia, you might have to rethink and figure out other options (e.g. not going for Georgia real estate at all, or picking up a house at another location in Georgia, or waiting for some more time before you can actually own a Georgia real estate piece etc). So evaluation of affordability is important.

Here, we are not saying that you should not evaluate the affordability factor if you are looking for Georgia real estate for living in and not investing. It’s just that you will need to pose the question differently to that Georgia real estate agent. In any case, you should never reveal your real budget to that Georgia real estate agent. Mention an amount that is lower than your real budget by 10-20% even if your Georgia real estate insists on what maximum you can spend. For a person who is looking at Georgia real estate as an investment avenue, the Georgia real estate agent is just a way to find out the going rate, he will have to use other real estate investing techniques to find the best deal.

So your Georgia real estate hunt can easily start with just calling up a real estate broker.

Choosing a Real Estate Investing Course

Choosing the right real estate investing course will ensure that you get the most knowledge and insight before you begin investing. There are many ways you can invest in real estate and many different real estate investing courses that will give you specialized information about the type of investing you want to do. Because there are so many real estate investing courses out there that cover every imaginable investing topic, it is important to choose the real estate investing course that will be of the most benefit to you and give you the information you need to succeed in your investing ventures. There are many things to look for in a real estate investing course, including topic, price, format, and the experience level of the person teaching it.

One of the most important things to consider when choosing a real estate investing course is the person who developed the course and the person who is teaching it. Sometimes this is the same person and other times it is not. You want to make sure that the real estate investing course you choose was designed by a real estate professional that has experience and success in the real estate business. You should also make sure that the person who is teaching the real estate investing course you choose be knowledgeable about real estate if it is not the same person so you can get personalized feedback and advice form someone with experience.

You should also look for a real estate investing course that is tailored to your particular investing interest. There are many different ways to invest in real estate and they all require different knowledge and advice. Buying rental properties is much different than flipping houses or finding foreclosures, so be sure to pick a real estate investing course that will tech you what you need to know to fit your interests.

It is also important to pick a real estate investing course that has a format you will enjoy and will not eat up too much of your time as well as a price you can afford. Spending thousands on a real estate investing course will eat into the money you have to invest and usually you can find a real estate investing course for much less than this. You should also pick a format, online, at a local college, or self study that you will enjoy and that will keep you motivated.

The last thing you should consider when choosing a real estate investing course are the experiences of former students. Asking people who have previously taken the real estate investing course you are interested in will give you a good idea whether or not the real estate investing course is valuable. Be sure to ask former students if they feel as though the real estate investing course you are considering gave them valuable advice and useful knowledge that set them up for investing success. Asking former students about their experience is one of the best ways to decide if the real estate investing course is right for you.

Home Insurance ? Flat Rates

Some renters believe that it would take them up to two years in order to buy back any items that were stolen from their property, so it is incredible that 37% of people questioned by a leading insurer admitted to not having their possessions protected by home contents insurance.

This statistic is quite shocking, especially as 33% of the renters questioned believed that items in their flat could be worth as much as £10,000 and that some individual items would reach £1,500.

One of the reasons for tenants not having home insurance was that they believed that their property in the flat was covered by the landlords insurance, which is not the case. Another cause for renters not having house insurance was that they thought the risk to their property was too minimum so didn’t think it was worth investing in.

The major reason for people not investing in home contents insurance was because they had other financial obligations such as their other monthly bills which were felt to be more imperative. However, there were a fifth of people simply preferring to spend their money on luxuries such as; holidays, socialising and shopping. Yet, with burglaries being a threat to everyone and with £8 billion worth of uninsured goods being at risk of damage from crime and harsh weather conditions, perhaps investing in even a cheap home insurance would prove to be best for you and your property.

Real Estate Investing Continuing Education is Critical to your Success

Continuing your education in real estate investing is of the utmost importance for your success as a real estate investor in today’s market. Why? The old saying, “knowledge is power”, holds true in basically every aspect of your life, including real estate investing. Whether you are a beginner or seasoned real estate investor, there is always something new you can learn to further your career.


With our current market situation, the changes in the availability of money, what you learned a few years ago may not be effective for today’s real estate investor. Continuing education for Real estate investors is crucial to their success.


Many real estate investors are recognizing the importance of continuing their education and are benefiting immensely from what they are learning.

New ideas and techniques have been developed to help real estate investors enhance their knowledge, so they can apply what they learn to increase their real estate empire.


There are many different methods you can use to continue your education. It depends on how far you have already come in your real estate investing career. You may choose to take advantage of the free online webinars to find out about new and innovative real estate systems or simply “read up” on areas of investing where you may lack knowledge.


Different methods to consider for continuing your real estate investing education are:

. Free Online Webinars

. Join a real estate investment club

. Enroll in a coaching program

. Purchase a real estate investing course

. Read books

. Mentoring

. Training classes

. Seminars


Other areas to consider continuing education for success in real estate investing:


. Real Estate Investor Marketing – Real estate investor marketing is essential to your success. Even if you have already learned real estate investor marketing strategies, new techniques have been developed to increase awareness of the services you provide. There are many different online resources available to purchase or to learn about real estate investing marketing.


. Personal Growth – Not only can you advance your career through learning more about real estate investing, but you can also further your career by investing in yourself through personal growth. Determine what could be holding you back in your real estate investing career. If you are feeling lost or unmotivated, you might consider attending a free online webinar. Or maybe you have issues in organization; they now have real estate systems for the Investor that can be set up for you at a very reasonable cost. Getting organized will help keep you on track.


. Join Forums – Communicate with other investors to find out what they have learned. Find a forum where you can exchange information and interact with others who may be experiencing similar frustrations and fears, as well as successes. Forums can actually be a way to motivate you and give you different ideas to move forward in your real estate investing career.


Continuing your education in real estate investing is essential to your success. There are many different methods and depths to which you can increase your knowledge in advancing your real estate investing career. The important thing to remember is you should never stop learning. Changing procedures, laws and strategies make it critical that you keep updated on these changes. Your success will be based on your knowledge in how to implement these changes into your real estate investing business plans.

Increase Your Real Estate Investing Profits With An Online Presence

As a real estate investor, you have a multi-faceted business. You have to make yourself accessible to both buyers and sellers in order to maximize your profits. In order to do that, you need to develop multiple real estate investor websites. These websites will each market to a specific group of people. With a real estate marketing system such as this, you will be able to increase visibility and profits.


There is a common mistake a real estate investor makes when setting up real estate investor websites. Real estate investors will create one site and make that the place for both buyers and sellers to go. What ends up happening is it creates more confusion than customers. Buyers need a website to go to, as do sellers.


When buyers and sellers do a web search they do not want to come across a site which requires them to sift through information that does not pertain to them. Instead, they want to have a site that is dedicated to the kind of information that is focused on their particular needs.


You can create the system your customers want by making niche websites. First, you will need to develop a buying site. The buying site will be dedicated to wholesale deals for real estate investors. You will be able to devote the entire site to these kinds of deals, which will allow real estate investors to see everything you have to offer.


Then, you can make a site for sellers. You will use marketing tools in order to find motivated sellers. There are many people who for a multitude of reasons, are in financial trouble and are looking to sell their property quickly. You will be able to develop a real estate marketing system that is geared toward those people and drive them to your website.


By developing these niche sites, real estate investors are able to increase the opportunity of buying or selling their real estate deals. They will not be limited by their geography because of the power of the internet. Investors around the world are currently buying US properties because of our current market situation. When you create niche websites, you can find real estate investors in any country, as well as ones close to you.


You will also be running a real estate marketing system that will reach the people who are purchasing real estate. Currently, 80% of real estate buyers use the internet to look for property. That number has grown by three percent in only two years.


Out of the 80% that use the internet to look for property, 73% drove by to look at a home they saw online, while 57% actually walked through the home.


Real estate investor websites are a must for anyone who has an interest in making money from real estate investing. With them, you can create an online presence which means you will find a way to market yourself to 80% of the people who will be buying real estate this year. The most powerful and effective way to make money with real estate investing right now is through the internet, and niche real estate investing websites.

Successful IRA Real Estate Investing in Tough Times

IRA investments are suffering right now. The stock market is plunging, the real estate market is a disaster, and the economy is wobbly. So why would you consider an IRA real estate investment in such tough times?

Any time is a good time for IRA real estate investments, with a proviso. And it’s a big proviso. You have to choose the right real estate investment for your IRA. Choose wrong, for either an IRA real estate investment or any other IRA investment, and you’ve got a disaster. But choose the right real estate investment for your IRA and you’ll set yourself up well for a comfortable retirement.

That’s equally true now, when times are tough, because there are some excellent IRA real estate investments available if you know where they are.

IRA investing isn’t easy. Of course you could do what 96% of the population do with their IRA investments. Leave the investing to your custodian, and if you do chances are that like everyone else you’ll get a return of around 4% – 9% per annum. Not the sort of return that is going to result in a comfortable worry free retirement.

Or you could do your own IRA investing. It’s quite allowed, there is no reason to leave the investing to your custodian like almost everyone else does, and there are much better returns to be made.

But doing your own IRA real estate investing isn’t easy. You need to learn all about buying right, maintaining your real estate investment, finding loans, finding tenants and ultimately, as some stage, selling the property. And none of these is easy to do for the average IRA owner who wants to find a great IRA real estate investment but isn’t a real estate professional.

Or you could leave all that work to someone else. Someone who does it full time and knows exactly what they are doing.

Because if you’re not a professional real estate investor then you aren’t doing yourself a service trying IRA real estate investing on your own. There’s too many pitfalls and you’ll probably pay for it in your retirement.

And of course there’s all the work for you in the meantime. After all, who wants to be fixing toilets? Or leaky faucets, or getting out of bed in the middle of the night because a tenant has a broken window?

Is there a turnkey solution to finding high quality IRA real estate investments? Yes there is. It’s perfectly possible to find a good company offering solid IRA real estate investment opportunities, and one in particular that offers a total turnkey solution to IRA investing. The work is done for you, no fixing toilets. And no cash down.

And of course a company like this will know exactly where the best real estate investments are to be found, whereas you may find that locating these yourself isn’t easy. After all, who has time to be combing the country looking for good real estate investments? You don’t, but the professionals do.

And believe it or not, the current state of the real estate market is creating some fantastic, once in a lifetime real estate investment opportunities for IRA investors, and many are taking advantage of these investment opportunities right now. Many people will be setting the foundations of their future retirement through their IRA right now taking advantage of some of the best times we’ve seen for top quality IRA real estate investments.

So if you’ve got an IRA and have tired of losing money in the stock market, and don’t want the work or responsibility of real estate investing in difficult times like these, consider using a professional IRA real estate investment company.

Times like these only come around rarely for the canny real estate and IRA investor.

Are You Beginning Real Estate Investing? Check This..

To become more familiar and who want to stay on top of real estate industry trends designed for real estate investors should have the strategic investing and planning programs. Exclusive investments, strategic planning, training and industry information for the real estate professional, membership has its privileges and rewards. It you are serious real estate investor or just want to be more informed about your industry, membership with Property visitors offers you immediate access to exclusive on and off market investment opportunities, educational seminars and strategic real estate advice and counsel to help you build your net worth.

Investing in real estate can be a very profitable. But it also has potential pitfalls that need to be avoided and questions that need to be answered if you want to achieve long-term financial security and success. Real Estate Investment Terminologies, in recent years many people started to show interest in purchase of the real estate for their vacation or for future requirements. This real estate purchase decision is taken by the people after realizing the value of the property or when they are looking for an investment property.

Real estate investment has very good terminologies. When you decided to buy a property in the any place, locate the place carefully whether the property has a good value in that area. Only after collecting proper details and information regarding that area, then move on to that area. This will help you find a real estate as per your desire without wasting your money. Some Real Estate Investing Kit gives you the valuable information and customizable forms you need to make the process simpler, efficient and more cost-effective, allowing you to invest like a seasoned professional even if it’s your first venture in investment property.

The investment securities of real estate investment have a close relationship with the term finance and economics. The addition made in some kind of asset which in turn receives the good return from the real estate investment means that putting something to yield a good return. In real estate, issuer means any person who issues or proposes to issue the security. Person means any individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association, joint stock Company where the interest of the beneficiary is evidenced by the real estate investment securities, unincorporated organization, government, and any of the subdivision of the government.

Sale or sell means the sale of every contract or disposition of the real estate investment securities or in the interest in the security for the value. The term real estate “security” refers to any note stock, treasury stocks, bond, debenture, evidence of indebtedness, transferable shares, real estate investment securities, certificate of deposit for real estate security and many other things are commonly called as security. Periodically or in some other specified period the investor had to pay the fixed sum of amount, a security does not include any insurance or donation or annuity contract in which the insurance company gives assurance to the investor.

15 Ways to Buy Property No Money Down – Real Estate Investing Training Video


www.localmentor.com Colorado Real estate investment expert, Michael Jake, teaches zero down investing techniques. Learn foreclosures, short sales, subject to, land contracts, owner financing and other creative real estate financing structures. Free Colorado real estate investing course teaches you how www.localmentor.com

Real Estate in Georgia: Starting Georgia real estate hunt with a real estate agent

Georgia is a wonderful place to live in. No wonder you have decided on picking up Georgia real estate for living-in or investing. Your Georgia real estate hunt can quite easily start with looking for the real estate prices (i.e. average prices) so as to gauge what kind of house and location will fit your budget. This is assuming that you have already estimated how much you can afford to spend on that Georgia real estate piece that you are so much after.

With little effort you can easily find out the Georgia real estate prices. You can do this in a lot of different ways. One way is to directly give a call to a Georgia real estate agent and ask him about what kind of house you can get within your budget (if you are looking for Georgia real estate for investment purposes).

In fact, a lot of people find it easier to just make a call to the real estate agent and get a grasp of the going prices for properties in any place let alone Georgia. Now, as mentioned above, if you are looking for Georgia real estate piece as an investment option, then you would start with checking out what you can get for your budget. However, if you are looking for Georgia real estate because you actually want to live in Georgia (and enjoy your life), then you would be better off starting with your most basic requirements from a house e.g. you could specify a 1 bedroom house or a condo or whatever, if that is the minimum space you would need to be able to live in comfortably with your partner or your family etc.

If you cannot get that basic house in the location of your choice in Georgia, you might have to rethink and figure out other options (e.g. not going for Georgia real estate at all, or picking up a house at another location in Georgia, or waiting for some more time before you can actually own a Georgia real estate piece etc). So evaluation of affordability is important. Here, we are not saying that you should not evaluate the affordability factor if you are looking for Georgia real estate for living in and not investing. It’s just that you will need to pose the question differently to that Georgia real estate agent. In any case, you should never reveal your real budget to that Georgia real estate agent. Mention an amount that is lower than your real budget by 10-20% even if your Georgia real estate insists on what maximum you can spend.

For a person who is looking at Georgia real estate as an investment avenue, the Georgia real estate agent is just a way to find out the going rate, he will have to use other real estate investing techniques to find the best deal.

So your Georgia real estate hunt can easily start with just calling up a real estate broker.

Colin Andrews Speaks at OSU- Real Estate Investing Video


Real estate investing is changing right now. Short sales are very popular and fast becoming one of the hottest real estate investing niches. This video is from a young investor, Colin Andrews who spoke at the real estate symposium at The Ohio State University.

$10 turns in to $5000, Flipping Houses Real Estate Investing Wholesaling


The-Flip-Man.com – The Flip Man http I will personally Teach & Mentor you on How to Flip Houses with no credit or cash. Enjoy the videos and audios of deals I’ve done and FREE REAL ESTATE INVESTING TIPS. Flipping House Tips, Ideas and Secrets Flipping houses is harder than it looks…

How to Start Real Estate Investing and Hit the Ground Running

This article covers six dynamite real estate investing tips intended to help anyone just getting started in real estate investing to successfully launch and hit the ground running with real estate investment property.

1. Develop the Correct Attitude

To stand a chance of succeeding at real estate investing, foremost, you must understand that real estate investment is a business, and you will become the CEO of that business.

As your first order of business, then, it’s crucial to develop the correct mind-set about investment real estate and be able to make this distinction between buying a home and investing in real estate:

“You buy a home to live and raise a family; you buy real estate investment property to pay for the home, live comfortably, and raise your family in style”

As one very successful real estate investor said, “Only women are beautiful, what are the numbers?” In other words, you will not succeed at real estate investing until you acknowledge that it’s not curb appeal, amenities, floor plan, or neighborhood that should turn you on or off to the investment opportunity; what counts most is the property’s financial performance.

2. Develop Meaningful Objectives

A meaningful set of (realistic) objectives that frames your investment strategy is one of the most important elements of successful investing. Yes, we may all desire to make millions of dollars from real estate investing, but fantasy is not the same as expressing specific goals and a method on how to achieve it.

Here are some suggestions:

How much cash are you willing to invest comfortably? What rate of return are you hoping to achieve by making the investment in real estate? Are you expecting instant cash flow, looking to make your money when the property is resold, or merely looking to achieve tax shelter benefits? How long are you planning to hold the property before you dispose of it? What amount of your own effort can you afford to contribute to the day-to-day operation of running the property? What net worth are you hoping investing will help you to achieve, and by when would you like to achieve it? What type of income property do you feel most comfortable owning, residential or commercial, or does it matter?

3. Develop Market Research

If you’re new to real estate investing, you undoubtedly know little about investment real estate in your local market. So, do market research to learn as much as you can about income property values, rents, and occupancy rates in your area. The better prepared you are, the more likely you are to recognize a good (or bad) deal when you see it.

Here are some good resources:

(a) The local newspaper, (b) A local appraiser, (c) The county tax assessor, (d) A qualified local real estate professional, (e) A local property management company

4. Run the Numbers

I can’t stress enough the importance of running the property’s cash flow, rates of return, and profitability numbers. Remember, real estate investing is a business, and as the CEO of your investment enterprise, you’ve got to know what you’re buying, especially if you’re trying to determine which of several investment opportunities would be the most profitable.

You have two options:

(a) Invest in real estate investment software. This will enable you to discover for yourself the investment property’s cash flow and rates of return, and create your own analysis reports. Plus, by running the numbers yourself, you gain a broader understanding of real estate investing nuances, and in turn might be less likely to fall victim to the wiles of someone with little concern about how you spend your money.

(b) At the very least, work with a real estate professional that has invested in real estate investment software and can calculate, present, and discuss the property’s financial data with you.

5. Develop a Relationship with a Qualified Real Estate Professional

Working with a qualified real estate professional is a great way for beginners to get started with rental property investing because an astute professional can acquaint you with local market conditions, recommend a property that meets your investing objectives, and discuss strengths and weaknesses about specific property performance.

Here’s a warning, however: Work with a real estate person who understands investment real estate.

Be sure the agent has a firm grip on key financial measures inherent to real estate investing, knows how to measure profitability and rate of return, has the ability to present the data you need to make wise investment decisions, and, most importantly, shows a genuine interest in how you spend your money. The last thing you want to do is to get involved with a real estate agent that would throw you under the bus just to make a commission.

Here’s a good way to interview for an agent. Ask them for the property’s cap rate and then request an APOD. If their response (even to these basics) is to stand there looking at you like a deer into the headlights of a car, find another agent.

6. Start Investing

Hopefully, this has given you some insight into real estate investing, highlighted a few things to make you a more prudent real estate investor, and perhaps alerted you to a couple of things that should be avoided.

Okay, that does it for us, now it’s time for you to get started. Here’s to your success.

IRA Real Estate Investing When the Going Gets Tough

IRA real estate investments are booming in 2008 for soon to be retirees who are worried about their future retirement plans. With the economy looking wobbly, the stock market plunging and the big investment banks going under, with us bailing them out, some traditional forms of retirement investing are starting to look a little sick.

For these reasons IRA real estate investments are increasing. Increasing? Surely not. Along with an economic meltdown, a stock market collapse and all sorts of economic turmoil, isn’t the real estate market headed for oblivion as well? Who in their right mind would consider investing their IRA in real estate?

Surely in 2008 real estate is a one way trip to the poorhouse.

No, not quite. Have you ever heard the expression that there is opportunity in adversity? There is plenty of opportunity in real estate right now, if you know where.

But lets look at IRA real estate investing first. How can you invest your IRA in real estate? Is it allowed? Is it legal?

Traditionally the majority of the population invest their IRAs in investments that are promoted to them by their custodian. In fact some custodians limit allowable investments to their own. So, it’s estimated, over 90%, in fact around 96% of IRA funds are invested this way. Mutual funds, CDs and stocks, and so on.

No problem if the markets are pushing ever skyward, but quite a problem right now.

But what about IRA real estate investments? Yes it’s entirely allowed to invest your IRA in real estate through a self directed IRA. Although this is not widely recognised, IRA real estate investing is one of the best forms of wealth accumulation for retirement. Real estate is a traditional long term wealth accumulation model, and as such is in fact ideal for IRA investing.

If you’re not certain about the details of how to set yourself up for IRA real estate investing consult your CPA, that’s outside the scope of this article. However take my word for it, it’s quite legal, and many canny IRA investors are doing it right now, and have been for a long time. You may need to execute an IRA rollover into a self directed IRA, but the trouble is worth it.

And there’s powerful reasons to consider investing your IRA in real estate. Did you know, for example, that it’s estimated that 85% of all wealth in the US was created through real estate?

And that through your IRA you can secure up to 70% bank non-recourse financing to invest your IRA retirement funds in income producing real estate?

Its food for thought isn’t it?

Now back to the real estate market. After all there’s no point in IRA real estate investing if the value of your real estate investment is going down is there?

Although we all hear that the real estate investment market is dreadful this isn’t the whole story. PARTS of the real estate market are dreadful, but not ALL of it. It’s perfectly possible to find excellent opportunities for investing in the lower priced end of the market. Simple comfortable homes for the working class who live in those faceless suburbs in cities right across America. There are some fantastic IRA real estate investments available in the right place RIGHT NOW.

But if you’re looking to get out there and find them yourself then you may be in for a shock. It’s not something that is realistic for the individual IRA real estate investor. You need professional help.

Buy in the wrong place and you’ll probably get burnt, big time.

But right now there are some excellent opportunities available for securing a great real estate investment, no cash down, at under market value, with tenants supplied, rental guarantees and even a guarantee that you will double your current investment return.

All through a major US public corporation with a reputation for solid real estate investment returns, for both IRA real estate investing and ordinary credit investing in real estate.

Yes you can secure your retirement future through a good IRA real estate investment, or more than one. However it’s the time to leave it to those who really know what they’re doing in hard times, and you can relax and leave the hard work to someone else.

But which corporation could possibly offer an opportunity like this?

Miami Real Estate – The L Steps: 6 Steps of Investing

Real estate investing in Miami real estate is now becoming popular again as there are many properties in foreclosure, short sale, bank reo’s, and government foreclosures. With such an overwhelming inventory of homes available for sale a real estate investor must be able to determine which one to purchase. Investors must follow six steps in order to learn, understand and achieve Miami real estate investment success.

These are the six L steps to Miami real estate investing:

1. Location – Location, location, location is still the key of buying Miami real estate. Buying Miami real estate just because the price is low in a declining area is big mistake that should be avoided. Look for homes in an excellent location like, good schools, economic stable and growing neighborhoods, near shopping centers and malls, near bus stops and metro rails, near hospitals and restaurants. Sometimes it is better to pay a little more for a property in a good location than getting a bargain in a place where it is very hard to sell or rent the asset. Location is often overlooked in purchasing real estate as many investor think they can overcome a bad location if the price is low enough. Out of two homes that are exactly the same, the one in the best location will command a much higher sales price and rental income. Location is the number consideration when purchasing Miami South Florida real estate.

2. Long Term – Real estate investing is a long term proposition. Don’t think you are going to be a millionaire over night. It takes years of hard work and dedication in order to succeed. Hold any property at least one year before selling it. Capital gain taxes will be greatly reduced. Consider renting the property for at two or three years. The rental income generated will help you to properly repair and renovate the property. Many investors purchased properties in the middle of real estate boom with no money down and no equity. These investors were thinking of flipping the homes fast and make a killing in the process. Many homes now in foreclosure are due to investors that were caught in the middle and now realize that real estate investing is very hard to time. Long term Miami real estate investing is the secret to a successful real estate career.

3. Lease Option – Never rent a property with a lease option to buy. Either sell or rent it straight out. A lease option usually is a disaster for both buyers and sellers. The tenant will demand a large discount of the rent to go towards the down payment and closing costs. The problem is that tenant will not buy the property at the end of the lease and the landlord/seller will have wasted a lot of money in rebates given to the tenant/buyer. Demand a 20% or 30% deposit from the tenant/buyer and a clause in the contract that if they default on the purchase they will lose the deposit. This technique will force the tenant/buyer to purchase the property or lose the deposit. The risk of losing the deposit will eliminate the tenant from taking advantage of the landlord by walking out of the contract after receiving a monthly rental discount.

4. Local – Buy real estate close to where you live. Don’t buy real estate in another state or in another country. Keep real estate investing local. Buy in your own county and in your city. The more you know about the area where you are buying the better the decision will be. The investor should always be close to the investment property. The Miami real estate investor should inspect the property often to determine any repair, roof and other problems. The landlord must inspect the property every month when collecting the rent. Check for the number of tenants actually living in the property, check for damages and destruction of the property and overall condition of the place. The investor/landlord will not be able to inspect and determine the condition of the property if it is located far away. Keeping real estate local is an essential step in real estate investing.

5. Leverage – Most real estate books and seminars tell you to use other people’s money when purchasing real estate. This technique is not the best and buyers should try to buy the property in cash if at all possible. Buying a house in cash will help you get a better deal and allow you to negotiate from a position of strength. A cash buyer will always have the upper hand in negotiating with banks, property owners, and other sellers. Cash buyers will not suffer and go into foreclosure if the market turns and they are unable to sell or rent the house right away. Like Dave Ramsey always says “cash is king and debt is dumb”. Buying an investment property in cash is an excellent way to avoid Miami real estate investment mistakes.

6. Learn – Research the property and learn everything about it before you buy. A mistake in Miami real estate investing can be very costly. Usually you make your money when you buy not when you sell. Buying the property at the wrong price the wrong place and at the wrong time could be detrimental. One mistake could wipe you out and put you out of business before you start. Ask questions to the experts, real estate agents, appraisers, mortgage brokers, and other real estate investors. Learn, research, educate yourself in all aspects of real estate investing before you purchase the asset.

It is definitely a buyers market in Miami-Dade County. Miami real estate investors have more choices than ever before when it comes to real estate investing. Investors must follow the L steps, the 6 steps real estate investor guide to successful real estate investing in order to achieve their investment goals in the Miami real estate market.