Saturday, January 26, 2008

5 Ways To Invest In A Declining Real Estate Market

5 Ways To Invest In A Declining Real Estate Market
This is the beginning of a lucrative market for investors.
The US real estate market has proven over the years to be a
sound investment, even in both booming markets and
surprisingly, in depreciating markets. It has been a steady
performer over the long haul, and now with a significant
dip in property values, it's quite notably the single
greatest decrease in values we've seen in decades. Good
profits from investments can be made in real estate. Both
individual investors purchasing in small scale and multi
billion dollar investment firms have the opportunity to
make great profits. The changing real estate market is
proving itself with dropping prices. Investors with
foresight should take the opportunity to cash in on
available deals. Here are a few ways investors are making
a profit in this present day market.

1) Use a realtor to help purchase properties at wholesale.
Realtors can be made a part of your wholesale purchasing
team. It's a numbers game when purchasing houses to rehab
and retail for profit. You will have to make hard money,
line of credit or cash offers until you lock in on a
wholesale purchase. For those with limited money, "hard
money" loans are used for leverage and buying power.

2) You can wholesale properties to investors. You can put
properties under contract and wholesale them to investors
or pre-qualified home buyers for a profit. This is done by
collecting a list of wholesale buyers. When you get a
property to wholesale, you can pick up a phone and call
your list of buyers as soon as they pick up a deal to
wholesale.

3) A "short sale" is a popular way for investors to
wholesale properties to their buyers. This is a process of
negotiating with the bank to purchase properties at
discount. Sellers often take this direction to prevent
going into foreclosure. Banks do this to avoid the costs of
paying attorney fees and the headache of foreclosure
procedures with the homeowner. Investors can do this one at
a time or in volume. There are many instructors who
specialize in short sales.

4) One of the most overlooked forms of making money and by
far less risky is to be a "finder" of deals. There are
different ways to be a finder; you can find an investor who
has access to funding and connect them with a motivated
seller. If a deal is done, you make a finder's fee for
putting the two together. The fee will range from $500 to
as high as $5,000. Keep in mind, the larger the deal, the
greater the fee! Always get your fee agreement in writing
prior to introducing the buyer to the seller.

5) Currently, the highest compensation is for capitalized
investors purchasing bank owned property (known as REO.)
These properties have already been through the foreclosure
process and re-owned by the lender/bank. Due to the changes
in the real estate market and influx in foreclosures, some
lenders need to sell off their large inventory of
properties in the shortest amount of time. As a result,
they can be purchased in bulk at steep discounts.

Large numbers of defaulted loans, record numbers of
foreclosures, increased bank inventory or re-owned bank
property all contribute to the significant changes in the
real estate market. Over the last year, the media has
focused on sub-prime lenders, mortgage companies and credit
unions having financial difficulty and many going out of
business. It's a good time for investors to look for
opportunities with prices taking a down turn.


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Andy Ford is a real estate investor who purchases, rehabs
and retails homes. He also works in the commercial real
estate field for a combined total of 20+ years.
http://www.sterlingholdingsinc.com/

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