Starting Out With Real Estate Investing

When you begin the great adventure of reading tons of real estate investing books (because, let's face it—it's pretty interesting stuff if you're a newbie) you will get to a point in which you scratch your head. “That sounds great,” you might say. “But how do I, Joe Doe, with three-point-four-two kids and a job delivering pizza, start messing with investment property?”

Real estate investment books never really seem to be addressing the pizza delivery guy, but they are. That is because real estate investment is within everyone's reach, even if it doesn't seem like it. Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad book series, was homeless and working menial jobs just to keep himself and his wife fed when he started investing. He was homeless and jobless on purpose, just so he would have the time to do what needed to be done to become successful.

At some point you need to leave all the financial philosophy behind and go straight for the nuts and bolts of how to get the thing done. How do you, Person Sitting in Chair, become a real estate investor?

What you are going to have to do sooner or later, is go out and try to get yourself a deal. That's what it all boils down to, isn't it? Look at real estate listings. Use the list price as a guideline for whether you could possibly figure out how to get in on that deal. If you don't have the money in your pocket, it is possible you can get a bank loan to cover the purchase cost or get investors to back you up. But you have to get out there and find these deals, meet these people. Just start doing it. One thing will lead to another.

If you think your terrible credit rating might keep you from getting a bank loan, think again. If you are looking for a house to live in, your credit rating might be a problem. That is because, should you default on your loan, the bank doesn't stand to make much from reselling your house. But a piece of property that is a guaranteed money maker? The bank knows that if you default on the loan, the property is theirs, and so is the money that property will garner on the auction block. If it is a money-maker, people will be scrambling over themselves to purchase it. The bank will be more than happy to help you get that property for them.

You just have to handle it well while it's yours and not allow the bank to end up owning it. With a little learning, that isn't that difficult a thing to accomplish.

Perhaps the property is a larger piece—an apartment building for instance. In that case, you may actually be able to find partners to go into the deal with you if you can afford to put down a percentage. McElroy even said he has even gone into such a deal before without putting up anything. It depends on your skill at finding deals. That is a skill that will need to be developed. There is no time like the present to begin!

About The Author: Alex Anderson Is An Investment Property Specialist Who Helps People To Successfully Purchase And Manage Minnesota Investment Properties To Build Wealth And Prepare For Retirement. Enroll In Her Free Program To Learn More About Beginning Real Estate Investing.

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