There are three key components to becoming a successful real estate investor. Surprisingly, they are not money, luck or talent, despite what many believe. Veteran investors, who have a long-term, successful track record, focus on these three things:

1. Systems
2. Relationships
3. Follow-through

Here’s how the system works:

1. Systems: The foundation on which you’ll build your wealth. Follow a proven system and stick to it. It must be a system that has been proven to work in your geographic area and focuses on the type of property in which you want to invest. Once you have a system that works, don’t mess with it; let it work for you. (more…)

Have you ever thought about investing in real estate but wondered, “Where do I begin?” I cannot answer for you, but I know that I have. In fact, I may not be sitting very far from your chair right now.

Let me tell you a little about myself. I am 37 years old. I did not even know how to handle money until I was 34, and I had quite a bit of debt to repay. I didn’t even have a positive net worth until I was 36. Really! I’ve spent the last year-plus investing into the stock market. Unlike most people, I’m proud to say that I’ve done really well for myself. I am not mentioning this to brag that I am great, but it begs the question, why am I considering real estate then?

There are benefits to learning how to make money in multiple ways, outside of your regular 9 to 5 job or whatever your real hours are. Plus, as an investor, different money making vehicles present themselves as better opportunities at different times. One investment is not necessarily better than another investment type, but the timing is key. There is room to make money on stocks, still, but their best time was during the first few months of the year. Now is the real estate’s time, because you can buy properties for so little money. (more…)

There are vast amounts of ways that someone can make a living off real estate investing, some ways involving more risk than others. Slow and steady wins the race most often while the real estate investments that carry the most risk can often offer the highest returns. This risk however can be managed with research and experience. A lot of people have made money by using house flipping, that is why this topic pops up so much in the news. A lot of people have failed miserably with this but of course this won’t make the news.

Investing in rental properties doesn’t provide the almost immediate profit returns that you can see with something like flipping houses but if you plan properly it is a very good form of real estate investing that brings in steady profit. Rental properties are always a good idea, especially if you can identify and grab those golden opportunities. (more…)