Commercial Real Estate Investment Articles

If you’re like most real estate investors, you probably like to keep your finger on the pulse of the overall real estate investment market. If you’re looking for clues and insights and an “edge” on the competition, check out these six resources. You can add them to the mix of our more “creative” real estate investing information.

In today’s shaky economy and crazy real estate market, you can set yourself free financially by investing in real estate with low-risk creative real estate strategies. “Creative” real estate investing techniques have been around for a long, long time. When it’s easy to get cheap bank financing, they may not be as popular or necessary. But when times get tough, knowing how to invest in real estate without needing a bank is the key to your investing success. Today, bank financing for real estate has dried up. It’s tough to get even if you have great credit. So now we really need to get creative about putting real estate deals together.

As you prepare to become a successful real estate investor, I encourage you to take the following tips into consideration. They have helped me greatly as I have navigated my way through the world of real estate–and life in general. I hope these tips will make just as big of an impact on your life as they have had on mine.

Buying properties from out-of-state owners is what I consider to be the most overlooked method for getting great deals. Why? Because many top investors are NOT pursuing this method. Here’s the situation: Those who aren’t pursuing out-of-state owners often tell me, “Yeah, I need to be doing that.” And the ones who are already doing it–absolutely LOVE it!

I bought my first rental in 1998, while earning only $8/hour at my full-time job, and after one year of study, reading, listening, boring my co-workers to death with my constant talk about real estate investing, and looking at every house for sale within a 3-mile radius of my home.

I know that many people are inspired by my rags-to-riches story. We’re always inspired by the stories of someone who has overcome many hurdles.

I made $53,849 on one house in July 2005 for 3 hours of my time. It’s a real estate investment property that I found through an advertisement, then called the seller, signed the contract, and sold within 20 minutes of taking possession. I did absolutely nothing to this home and only visited it twice (when I bought it and when I sold it).

Congress is most discriminating. For example, if two investors purchased adjacent and identical properties for exactly the same price, spent exactly the same on improvements, and sold them for the same price to the same buyer, one investor might pay double the taxes of the other–and the difference would be even larger when measured in terms of when paid.

I have heard many people say that generating leads for creative real estate investing is a numbers game. That may be very true, but there are definitely things that you can do to make those numbers work in your favor and greatly improve your odds with less money spent in the process.

The top three items that get small-to-medium scale real estate investors in hot water are: Contract Disputes Negligence Deceptive & Unfair Business Practices

The last two years in commercial real estate have been challenging to say the least. A year ago, I was skulking around our office whining and moaning about the phone not ringing. Nothing was moving. Sellers were stuck in a 2007-era valuation time-machine; tenants alternately begged and demanded rent concessions; and banks were treating real estate investors like red-headed stepchildren (my apologies to freckle-friendly families everywhere).

Several months ago, I asked a question on the Commercial Real Estate Forum here at CRE Online for article suggestions–topics that readers would find most valuable.

If you market your services to people in foreclosure–or to any targeted list as I have described in a previous article, you are going to get leads. Please remember: Leads are not deals…yet.

My name is Rommel, and I’m from WI. Here is my success story: Six minutes at a real estate investor’s meeting leads to my first deal…Back in 2003, I read a book recommended by my brother called Rich Dad, Poor Dad. From that point forward, I knew that real estate was going to be my ticket to wealth. Over the next 12-18 months, I read tons of books, attended plenty of conventions, listened to real estate radio shows on the Internet, and attended local real estate investor’s meetings.

In this down economy, many people with traditionally “secure” jobs are looking for greater financial security due to the number of job losses over the past year. The concept of “job security” is no longer what it once was.

This is a story about never knowing where you can find your buyer or seller. About nine months ago, I was eating at a Chili’s restaurant and preparing for a wholesaling class I teach for our Real Estate Association in Orlando. A man started talking to me after he saw my ibuyhomes.com shirt. He said he was a Realtor, and we exchanged cards.

By now I am sure you’ve heard that it is legal, permissible, and profitable to invest in real estate using your self-directed IRA, SEP, or Roth IRA. If you’ve been using this technique, you know the drawbacks: delays in funding, fees from your custodian, potential lawsuits against your IRA.

When I first started in the business I was taught that one way to find good deals was to call sellers who had ads in the “Real Estate for Sale” section of the Classified Ads. So, I tried it and soon discovered that approximately 90% of the sellers I reached were simply not motivated. In fact, some were downright offensive and nasty.

I’ve wanted to own income property for quite some time. My career background includes banking, investment advising, and now financial planning/business consulting. For almost two years now, I have had my own consulting firm.

I am a full-time real estate investor and owner of Always Open Storage, LLC. A year ago I was fairly oblivious to how the self storage industry worked, as I had spent my previous years in residential real estate.

I know a fireman who once told me that it’s not safe to enter a burning building without first knowing where all the exits are. It seems like common sense to me. Does it to you?

So, you just got that great bank-owned property under contract and now you need a loan to buy, fix, and flip. You went to three hard money lenders, and they turned you down. Why? Because you STINK at selling your deal.

I’m seriously ticked off. Here’s why:I had a conversation yesterday with a fellow named Anthony. He explained to me how he really wanted to get into the real estate business now because the opportunity is so ripe. In particular he wants to get into foreclosures. Who wouldn’t?

17 Essential Tips for New Landlords

Short sales, foreclosures, distressed notes, liquidation auctions, bankruptcy sales…ahhh, so many deals, so little time. Real estate is on SALE!